Snow & Sparks
by roxypony
Summary: EDITED AND SHORTENED. \ We touch, I feel a rush. We clutch, it isn't much but it's enough to make me wonder what's in store for us. / You stood there in front of me, just close enough to touch, close enough to hope you couldn't see what I was thinking of. ArrowxOC, some Larten/Arra, and plenty of all your favourite vampires!
1. Shake The Ground

2013 EDITED: Chapters 1 and 2 combined and all of my old ANs are gone.

Lyrics property of Cherri Bomb, _Shake The Ground._

* * *

_You serve it up, like I want some_  
_but I don't want your opinion_  
_You load it up like a shotgun, pull the trigger_  
_Don't you love when you take one out?_

_Take one out_

_I won't do what I'm told_  
_I will break you down_  
_Take you down_  
_Shake the ground_

* * *

"I see you brought your cowboy boots." my mentor observed with a note of annoyance in his drawly tone.

"Yeah Storm, I did. As I told you I would, at least 50 times." I snapped back with way more venom than usual for me.

"Well, just hope for your own sake the Princes like the Wild Wild West." only he pronounced it, 'Waald Waald Weeast.'

And that pissed me off. So I stomped the heel of my little cowboy boot right down on his baby toe.

But let's back up a bit here.

My name is Kayden, but everyone calls me Kade unless I'm in trouble. The idiot is my mentor, Storm Lex. If we're being totally honest, he's a bit of a sketchy dude. But he's kinda like a dad to me, albeit a drinking, womanizing irresponsible dad. So I guess he's really more of a brother. Please note that when I said womanizing, I wasn't talking about me - I'm sure more than half the reason we travel so much is so he can throw himself at every woman in the world, at least once. Oh, and he steals things. But he's not that bad, really. We're good friends, him and I. (And I think I'm the only woman on earth who he hasn't tried anything with.) We know each other well - we're family. He's taught me everything, except how to fight. I taught myself that. I had to. He's hopeless.

I'm not much like him. I don't steal unless it's urgent, he steals because he can. And I don't womanize, or man-ize, for that matter. I'm a little angel compared to him, but that's not saying much. I can fight like nobody's business. But I won't play dirty- unless you do first. I know all the dirty tricks, and I've never been afraid to use them. 90 percent of the time, I don't start fights. But I finish them every time. Oh, and I can out-drink Storm on my worst day. I'm a little bit proud of that. When I walk, the world gets out of my way, or so I like to think.

I used to live in Montana, in a tiny town with my family on our cattle farm, Stone Cross Ranch, right across the road from my very best friend Rochelle. We raised hell together every day, galloping our horses down main street just to make the local boys stare. We were inseperable. And I found love. His name was Samson, and he also lived on a cattle farm, the only one bigger than Stone Cross Ranch. He was perfect and he was mine. I loved my life. until he left me. Roch was always there for me, until the day Sam was there for her. And that was the day I stopped loving my life.

Roch and Sam married and moved to the obnoxious, dirty, disgusting city. I only visited her once, that was way more than enough for me.

My home town wasn't the same without her. I would have died of boredom, eventually. Not to mention all the local boys were idiots, not good enough for me. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but it's just the truth! So I saddled up my horse Cheyenne and I got the hell outta there.

Not much later, I met Storm and to make a long story short, I'm a Vampire now. An honest-to-goodness bloodsuckin', supernaturally strong Vampire.

We don't have fangs, by the way. But my perfect pearly whites can bite through almost anything, so watch out!

I've been a Vampire for about 6 years, but I don't look a day older than 18. Let's just say we age well.

And that's pretty much all you need to know about me.

Oh, one more thing. In a few minutes, I'm going to meet the Vampire Princes.

###

"That's Paris Skyle. I think he's the oldest Vampire currently in existence..." Storm scrunched up his face, a sign he was deep in thought. "Yup, he's the oldest. Probably seen more action than the rest of the world put together, except prehaps for me."

_Cocky idiot. _I thought. We were in the Hall of Princes now, waiting in line behind some Generals who delivering messages to the 3 Princes who all looked extremely expression-less. Maybe it was because they were sitting on really uncomfortable-looking thrones that were more like chairs.

"In the middle's Mika Ver Leth. Only been a Prince for 2 years, but don't let that fool ya. He's a tough sonnova-bitch." Storm continued with a relish. He sure did enjoy sounding like he knew everything.

Behind them was a weird glowing sphere which seemed to...pulse, almost. It happened to be my favourite shade of red. It was intriguing to watch, I felt my gaze drawn to it as though magnetized.

"That's the Stone of Blood. The heart of our clan. If the Vampaneze ever got a hold of that..." Storm shuddered, then continued his introduction of the Princes as if they were all personal friends of his.

"And on the left, there's ol' Arrow. He was off livin' with the humans a while back, had a wife and everything. 'Til the Vampaneze got her. It was a nasty affair, I heard. He came back to us all messed in the head, and he's been a cold-blooded killin' machine ever since then. I've only fought beside him once, what a battle it was. I'll never forget it."

"Oh." I said. What else was I supposed to say? And why was there a chill creeping down my spine. Well, the room was pretty cold...

Then, as if he'd heard me, Arrow lifted his intense stare off the gaggle of Vampires in front of him, and slowly sweeped the entire room. Maybe it was my imagination but his eyes seemed to linger on me slightly. I was eerily drawn to them like I'd been to the Stone of Blood. They were deep and pit-like, but I couldn't be sure of the colour from this distance. I could see they were glassy and haunted though, like he'd seen too much.

When he went back to looking at the Generals, I realized I'd been staring like a dumbass.

_Great first impression, Kade. You genius._

"Storm." I elbowed him sharply. "Is it true the Princes are allowed to kill whoever they want?"

"Technically, yeah. But they don't do anything without a reason."

_I really hope staring isn't a good enough reason to execute someone._

Then my stomach dropped about a million feet, because the Generals walked out of the Hall, and it was our turn.

I prayed my 2nd impression would be way less airheaded than my first, but knowing me, that would be getting majorly lucky.

We stepped forward, and stood about 10 feet from the 3 Princes. I had a much better view of them now, and I had to admit they were fascinating and so incredibly different from one another.

Paris Skyle had a flowing white beard and looked like a loving old grandfather, but I could clearly see a steely glint in his blue eyes, he was still a strong and fierce man. I noticed he was missing an ear- probably in some historic battle. Beside him, Mika Ver Leth was good-looking in a super-dark way. He was the smallest of the 3, but there was nothing petite about him. His body was compact and powerful, and his facial expression looked ready to fight - but in some lights his eyes almost had a mischevious edge. And then there was Arrow, the " cold-blooded killin' machine" as Storm so gracefully put it. He was tall, bald, tattooed with arrows (I wondered if he'd named himself after them, or gotten them in honour of his name. I wanted to find out.) and he positively exuded raw power, but not in a gross bulgy muscle-builder kind of way. He looked like nature had simply gifted him with the strength to snap a tree -or someone's neck- in half. And his eyes, I had to be careful not to stare again. They were an intriguing colour, between dark gray and deep reddish-brown. Like black smoke partially obscuring a wildfire. And when they turned on me again... well there was no mistaking it, he was staring right at me. Or right through me, I couldn't tell.

Wow.

I wasn't used to feeling nervous or uncomfortable. There wasn't much I was scared of, I'm absolutely ballsy to the point of being stupid at times. But as I stood there being stared down by one of the most feared and respected Vampires in history... I was shaking in my cowboy boots.

I couldn't figure out the look on his face, it was kind, curious, defensive, and fierce all at once. He looked utterly relaxed and docile right now, but for some reason I got the impression that that could change in no time at all.

But another voice broke through my scrambled thoughts and Arrow and I both looked to the right.

"Welcome to Vampire Mountain, both of you." Paris Skyle's voice sounded so much younger than the rest of him. "And thank you Storm, for making the trip to present her to us. I have to admit, I rolled my eyes when I heard you blooded a young female-"

Storm stiffened and tried to maintain a neutral expression. I tried not to chuckle at that. Clearly I wasn't the only one who knew he had a reputation.

"-but she has an honest aura about her, she looks like a fine young Vampiress."

Storm looked deeply relieved. I was just astounded Paris had detected my 'aura' within like 30 seconds. I guess you don't live that long without learning a few things.

"She was 18 when you blooded her, correct?" said Mika sharply but not unkindly.

"Yes sire." said Storm with more respect than I'd ever heard him adress anyone.

"I'd personally ask her, rather than him, if we want the honest answer. You know how he is." Arrow spoke for the first time. His tone was offhanded, but far from disinterested. His voice was deep and powerful...comforting. So why had my heart rate increased ever so slightly? I chalked that up to the fact that all the Princes were observing me as if I was a mildly interesting TV show.

Storm looked indignant, but remained silent. I had to admit I was proud of him for not saying something he'd regret. Same for myself, I'd picked up his habit of speaking impulsively a long time ago.

"Do you, Kayden Stone, certify that you were indeed over-age and you gave full consent when Storm Lex blooded you?" Paris Skyle adressed me.

"Yeah, why would Storm lie?" I shot out. "Sire." I quickly added.

To my relief, Paris smiled warmly. "It's just a precautionary, Miss Stone. And we frown upon Vampires who blood children. You _were _young when he blooded you, but if you were legally an adult then we have no official complaints."

"Yeah, and we know Storm too well." Mika Ver Leth chipped in. He and Arrow both guffawed. Storm turned bright red and glared. I found myself desperately holding back a giggle.

Mika resumed his sharp expression just as soon as he'd lost it.

"State your reasons for blooding Kayden Stone." he adressed Storm with a raised eyebrow.

Storm clearly understood the meaning behind that one.

"What are you implying? NO! Kade is like family to me! I would never, EVER-" he blustered awkwardly.

"It's true!" I finally defended my mentor. Sure he had his flaws, but he had a good heart. I mean, if it wasn't for him I'd probably be dying of boredom in a ghost town.

"Kade's the truest Vampire I've ever met." Storm plowed on. "Never complains, never backs down, saved my ass more times than I can count. I've never lost a fight with her on my side."

It was true, we were a formidable duo. But he'd never laid on the praise this thickly before. For a moment I felt suspicious, but I pushed it out of my mind - If I looked good, then so did he.

The Princes all nodded silently, scanning us both from head to toe.

"One final query, then you can both retire and prepare for the Festival of the Undead." Paris spoke slowly. "How did you meet, and why was Kayden blooded?"

_Oh gods..._

I don't know who was redder, me or Storm. We had this sort of unspoken rule never to talk about it...

"Well, I was staying at an inn, and I was in a bar..." Storm began bravely. "I'd been drinking slowly for hours, and of course I wasn't feeling a thing."

"And then I came in." I interjected. "I'd just put my horse in the stables, I'd been riding all day, and it was freezing. And the only spare seat in the bar was beside him."

"She ignored me at first, then we got into a conversation, and before I knew it, I was doing shots with a human." Storm reddened further. "One thing led to another, and she eventually followed me back to my room..."

I glared sharply. That wasn't entirely true, he'd pretty much begged me. But it didn't seem to matter, the Princes were gaping at Storm as if they didn't know whether to laugh or kill him.

"Then I saw the scars on his fingertips, and asked what they were..." I put in.

"And I told her." he concluded.

"YOU BLOODED HER DRUNK?" the Princes snapped in unison.

"No, gods no! Do you think I'm a complete fool?" Storm whined. " I told her about us. I expected her to run, but she said she wanted to become one of us. I told her I could make it happen-"

"But I told him I'd consider it when I was sober." I added truthfully. I had my moments, but I wasn't _that_ stupid.

"So she fell asleep on the couch in my room - nothing happened, I swear." he muttered as the Princes stared down at him reproachfully.

"And if something had happened, we certainly would't want to know about it." said Mika smoothly.

"Yes, well... by the next morning, I'd forgotten she was there-"

"And I woke him up and told him I wanted to be a Vampire." I finished with a dry mouth. That was it, that was our story. It sounds ridiculous because it's totally true.

The Princes leaned back and exchanged looks.

"They are truthful." Paris affirmed his suspicious-looking brethren. "We have no business to press charges."

"_So _lucky for you." Mika sneered, adressing Storm. He glared, but held his tongue.

"Thank you very much for your time." said Paris with a wide smile. "I am sure we shall speak again before the Festival is done."

Storm shifted uncomfortably. "I look forwards to it, Sire."

I pushed my nerves aside and looked each Prince in the eye one more time before bowing and exiting the Hall with Storm.

I could have sworn I saw Arrow considering a smile.

###

They say sleeping in coffins is all scary and awkward and whatnot, but don't believe them. It's great. Personally, my first night in Vampire Mountain was the best sleep of my life. But then again, I had an extra-large coffin that was clearly constructed with some fatass in mind, so I had no shortage of room to stretch out. Not to mention I had a heap of blankets and the lid shut, so I was totally cozy even though my room -'cell' they call them here- felt like 50 below. But the shut lid was the reason I almost knocked myself back out the moment I got up, mainly because I forgot it was locked. Actually I forgot it was locked from the inside, so I panicked for a good minute before remembering there was a little latch in the top corner.

Hey, I never said I was a genius. Or well-coordinated.

My cell was nothing special, cold as Hell frozen over but we were only going to be staying for the Festival of the Undead so I didn't think much of it. It was medium-sized with some shelves carved into the wall, and that's pretty much all there is to tell. I immediately pulled on my boots and changed into some freshly washed (finally! I hate travelling) clothes, my favourite pants which were comfy and attractively fitted, and a simple white tank top. I ran my hand through slightly tangled reddish hair with natural blonde highlights and figured that was the best I could do since I didn't have an actual hair brush with me. I knew I forgot something.

Anyway, hello Vampire Mountain!

I walked across the hall to Storm's cell, and pounded on the door.

"Storm, get your lazy ass up and show me around!" I hollered, anxious to get going. The Vampire Stronghold looked fascinating and ripe for the exploring, I didn't want to wait around all day. Plus he seemed to know enough about it, for once I'd tolerate his know-it-all attitude.

After alternately pounding, yelling, and waiting, I did what I do best: lost my temper, and in this case smashed right through the door. I hadn't meant to break it, I guess I just bodyslammed it way harder than I meant? Blame Vampire Mountain for not investing in Vampire-proof doors! Really, they're pretty weak.

Oh, and I broke it for nothing because Storm wasn't in there. Neither was his travel bag but I didn't think anything of that till later...

I roughly remembered where the Hall of Khledon Lurt was, so I wandered down there figuring Storm would be pigging out on breakfast with some old buddies.

I scanned the room the second I got in, but the little bastard wasn't in there. My neck prickled with apprehension, but I didn't notice because I was so shocked to see another female Vampire sitting at one of the long benches!

She had long black hair, plenty of muscles, and when she turned I saw she had a really grumpy face. Not someone you wanted to mess with - but then again, neither was I.

She and I locked eyes. I waited for her to make a friendly gesture -us ladies have to stick together!- but she sort of smirk-glared instead, as if I was something she'd just decapitated on the battlefield. Then she turned back to face the men she was sitting with.

For a second I felt a flush of dissapointment for expecting a friendly reaction, but I pushed it back and almost laughed... she was clearly under the impression that she was a little Mountain Princess, but she'd just underestimated who she glared at. I was only in town for about a week, but I fully intended on showing her a thing or two about being a classy Vampire lady.

I found myself a bowl of gods-know-what, but it sure smelled good, so I ate it. It tasted incredible, but after months of travelling and eating raw animals I probably would have thought toenails tasted incredible too.

I sat down at the least crowded table, I wanted to look around at everyone before I started socializing, maybe eavesdrop on a few conversations. After being alone with Storm for months, anything would have been interesting to listen to. But a young Vampire about my age had other plans.

"Hello, you must be Kayden. Welcome!" he said warmly as he sat down across from me.

"That's my name, don't wear it out." I said peevishly. He was now blocking my view of two burly Vampires who were on the brink of a fistfight. Come on, I was watching that!

"I'm Gavner. Gavner Purl." he introduced himself, apparently deaf to my scathing tone.

"Nice to meet ya. I'd tell you my name but you creepily know it already." I gave up on watching the fight and observed the man in front of me. He was muscular enough, with pleasant brown hair and kind mischevious eyes. I couldn't help but tone down the attitude ever so slightly- it couldn't hurt to make a friend. He clearly thought the same because he smiled with the same persistent friendliness that irked me ever so slightly. Cheerful people have always pissed me off, maybe it was because my ex best friend Roch had been so insufferably chipper the day she told me she was marrying my first love Sam...

But lucky for this Gavner fellow, he wasn't _that_ kind of cheery, so I smiled back. It was small but it was genuine.

"Sorry about that." he grimaced without entirely losing the smile. "But it's big news. We heard about it 6 years ago when you were blooded, and now that you're here, well it's all over the mountain."

I raised my eyebrows. "I'm that big a deal?"

Gavner shrugged. "Well, we hear about it every time a new Vampire gets blooded, right away when the mentor sends a message to someone else, especially a General or a Prince. Technically they're supposed to if they can. If not, word gets out eventually if you meet other Vampires. Plus Storm's a bit of legend -infamous, really- it sparked a lot of interest when we heard he blooded a girl."

"Ahh." I said, sipping a mug of fresh blood and deciding not to discuss any details there.

"Yeah, plus it's not every day a girl gets blooded anyway." he added with a chuckle. "We've only just gotten used to having Arra around."

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and assume that's Arra." I said, pointing at the darkhaired girl who'd looked at me funny.

"The one and only." Gavner replied lightly.

I raised my eyebrows even higher.

"Oh come on Kade-" (since when were we on first-syllable basis? I've known him for what, 3 minutes?) "Don't tell me you're already on her bad side." he sighed.

"Haven't met her." I answered shortly. "But she gave me quite the look when I stepped in the room."

Gavner laughed happily-did the guy ever stop radiating friendliness? Seriously.- and said,

"Don't worry, she always looks down at newcomers. Just because she gets a lot of respect here...I mean, she's really earned it, she used to be at the bottom of things here."

"Yeah well, I've been a lot of places, and the only thing that's ever looked at me like what was a Vampaneze, 5 minutes before I gutted him." I stated flatly. No way was I going to admit how much that little glare insulted me.

"I guess you're not used to being looked down upon." said Gavner, voicing exactly what I'd been thinking.

"Mmmm." I hummed non-commitally. "Anyway, do you know where Storm might be? He said he was gonna show me around, but I have no idea where he is."

Gavner looked thoughtful. "Well, he could be in the Hall of Princes, or the Hall of Stahrvos Glen, the Hall of Games, or possibly the Hall of Perta Vin-Grahl."

"Lots of halls." I noted, trying not to sound overwhelmed. I'm confident with directions, but still. This wasn't a place I wanted to get lost in.

"I could show you." Gavner offered with off-putting eagerness. I brushed it off with a cool smile.

"It's okay, I'll figure it out." I said, standing up. "See ya around, Gav."

He looked sligtly impressed that I'd reciprocated the first-syllable address. "Looking forwards to it!"

"Oh wait!" I turned around, there was something I'd intended to ask someone. "What is -er, was this stuff?" I held up my near-empty bowl of the tasty stuff I'd been eating.

"Oh, that's bat broth." Gavner replied with a big smile. "It's a Vampire Mountain favourite."

I laughed, loud and sharp. "No really, I'm kinda in a hurry. What is it?"

Gavner smiled even wider which caused me to cringe. "I'm dead serious, it's bat broth!"

"Oh...my...gods..." I gagged, narrowly escaping hurling it back up into the bowl.

I really hoped there weren't any more 'suprises' in this mountain. I was so wrong!

###

I checked the Hall of Stahrvos Glen, where I got whistled at by a pack of drunken Generals. Then I checked the Hall of Games where some huge guy catcalled while getting his ass kicked on the bars. And then down to the Hall of Perta Vin-Grahl, AKA the community showers. You can imagine what they said down there.

Storm was nowhere to be found, and I was getting edgy.

As I walked quickly down the corridor from The Hall of Khledon Lurt to Stahrvos Glen, I came to the realization that I should have brought a coat. It must be 50 below in here. And here I was running around in a tank top. I hugged myself and walked a bit faster, able to see my breath steaming out of my mouth.

_Damn it Storm, where the hell are you?_

About 30 feet up the hall I was in, there was a small room on the left side, and a red cloaked figure had just walked out.

"Hey!" I yelled. The red cloaked man didn't acknowledge me, so I repeated it, about 10 times as loud. I don't like being ignored...

The man turned. He was tall and slender with a warm wrinkley face and and the beginnings of a grey beard. He arched his thick eyebrows at me.

"'Hey' yourself." he greeted me.

"Do you know Storm Lex?" I immediately asked, plowing right over the possibility of an introduction. But like Gavner, this guy had other ideas.

"You must be Kayden Stone." he said slowly and politely. "Welcome to Vampire Mountain. My name is Seba Nile. I serve as Quartermaster here." Every word was spoken in a perfectly percise, measured tone, as if the man had spent hours practicing that sentence.

"Oh yeah, nice to meet you. Lovin' the decor in here, great job. Seen Storm today?" I blurted quickly, in as much of a hurry as he was patient.

He cocked his head ever so slightly and observed me as though trying to decide whether or not to lecture me on politeness.

"Yes I know Storm, how could I not? I never cease to be amazed when I hear stories of his escapades."

I rolled my eyes. I didn't see why he was so infamous, he was just a mouthy hardass with more attitude than values.

"Do you know where he _is_?" I pressed. I didn't have all day!

"I saw him earlier." Seba replied simply, in a tone that suggested he knew way more than he was letting on.

"Great, where?" I tried not to snap, I really did.

Then he assumed an extremely puzzled expression which I found...deeply unsettling.

"What?" that time I did snap.

"I thought he...surely...oh. It does not really concern me..." This time there was none of the exact percision in his words.

"What!" I howled furiously, half roar and half whine.

"I assumed he would have told you!" Seba continued, sounding slightly less baffled than me.

I automatically took a step towards him.

"If you don't tell me where the hell Storm is..." I hissed in the threatening tone I saved for dealing with enemies.

I already had my suspicions, but when he put both his hands on my shoulders and dead-eyed me, that's when I got chills.

"Storm left the Mountain hours ago, Kayden. I asked him about it, he told me you were aware and that he had never intended to stay for the Festival."

I didn't say anything. I couldn't have spoken even if I'd wanted to.

"I am so very sorry, Kayden. I know him, I know how he is, what he does. I should have known better than to take him seriously. " Seba stated somberly.

"No." I said, suprised at the icy calmness in my voice. "I should have known better than to trust him since the moment I met him. It's my own damn fault, actually."

And with that, I turned on my heel and strode away with cold, angry tears falling from my eyes. I walked and walked, a couple times I thought I heard someone calling my name, but part of me felt like I was just imagining it and the rest of me just didn't give a fuck.

I wasn't naive enough to think he was a perfect man, but he was my mentor. We'd exchanged blood, we were family... or maybe I'd just been lied to for the past 6 years. All I was to him was a drunken mistake and he'd finally gotten the opportunity to dump me like an unwaned dog.

So I walked through the tunnels, halls, and corridors in the inside of this big rock called Vampire Mountain. Until I hit a wall, literally. Then for the first time in a decade, I crumbled to the floor and cried.

* * *

_You got the whole world choking_  
_From all the bridges that you're burning_

_You're not the leader of an army_  
_And yet the enemies still back down_

_I won't do what I'm told_  
_I will break you down_  
_Take you down_  
_Shake the ground_

_Your dark sun leaves me cold_

* * *

Reviews are love.

rxx


	2. Nice Of You To Ask, But

EDITED: chapters 3 and 4 combined

Lyrics property of Karmin, _Hello_.

* * *

_Little haters, big dreams_  
_I don't care what you think about me._  
_Two-faced old friends told me the end was near, ha. Forget them_  
_See a lot of things changed since then_

* * *

I don't know how long I sat there crying like a little girl, but when I finally got ahold of myself I was quite a bit colder than I was before, and that's saying something. I slowly raised my head to see -what a shocker- a blank stretch of rockface across the hall from me. I didn't need a mirror to realize how gross and puffy my eyes were right now. If I was lucky I could get back to my cell without anyone seeing me, and then make a plan from there.

One thing was for sure, I had no intention of going after Storm. He'd made it perfectly clear that he wanted nothing to do with me, so he could drop off the face of the earth as far as I was concerned.

No...was that too harsh? I checked my temper for a moment, let the anger fall back so I could figure out what I was really feeling. I couldn't just villainize Storm like that...or could I? He'd been my best friend, I'd loved him, admired him -just a little bit- and narrowly escaped falling for him. And here I was thinking the feeling was mutual.

Maybe I was still a naive small-town girl after all.

My eyes blurred again so I clamped them shut and I held my face in my hands. I was now the proud owner of a throbbing headache like something out of the world's worst hangover.

Then I felt another hand on my shoulder, and I almost jumped out of my skin.

"WHAT?" I snarled instinctively, jerking away furiously.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." came the reply, deep, strong and comforting.

_No way._ _It can't be. Not right now._ I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, willing the presence above me to dissapear. No such luck.

"Hey." he persisted, shaking my shoulder as gently as possible. "Are you okay? Tell me what happened." Despite a hint of gruffness, his voice radiated power and safety.

"I'm fine, Sire. Go away. Uh, please." I mumbled into my hands.

Instead, I felt him slide down the wall to sit beside me. Wonderful.

So I faced reality and cracked open my eyes. I stared straight ahead, and could see half of him from my peripheral vision. Call me crazy for not respectfully acknowledging a Vampire Prince, but I just...couldn't.

I sighed to try to relax myself, but it sounded weak and shuddery. Not me at all. Who was this strange weepy girl? I'd never met her.

"Seba told me about Storm leaving." he murmured.

"Bastard." was all I could get out. I hoped Arrow realized I wasn't referring to him.

"I always knew he was foolish and irresponsible, but I never thought he'd sink that low." the Prince admitted bitterly.

_I thought there was more to him than that. _Was what I intended to say. What I did say was:

"I...thought..."

That was as far as I got. I didn't understand what was happening. I can normally fight through pain, talk through tears... But right now I was as hopeless as a infant. I felt his arm slip around my shoulders and I pressed my palms against my eyeballs to push the tears back on. It somewhat worked.

"I know." his hand squeezed my shoulder lightly, and I cautiously leaned into him. I had to suppress a little shiver, gods I could feel his every muscle!

I didn't say anything for a long time. I didn't even try. My body ached and there was a bitter taste in my mouth. Just like that, Storm Lex -my teacher, father, brother, friend- was gone from my life.

"Want me to find out where he is?" Arrow finally broke through the chilly silence.

"You can do that?" I croaked.

"Of course, remember the Stone of Blood? That's partially what it's for. Once a Vampire has put their blood into it -as Storm did, decades ago- anyone can find them, no matter where they are."

"Alright."

Arrow got up first, brushed himself off, then abruptly offered me a hand as though the thought had only just occurred to him. I acted like I didn't see it, and slowly got to my feet, joints stiff from the cold. Now I understood why old people complain so much.

"You're freezing." Arrow commented.

"Is it warm _anywhere_ inside this rock?" I sighed, hugging myself again and shivering.

Arrow seemed to consider that for a moment.

"In your coffin, under a ton of blankets. That's about as warm as you'll get here." he flashed an almost mischevious smile.

"I was afraid of that." I muttered.

"I always called it 'The Rock" when I first came here. You get used to it." He chuckled warmly, and then, to my intense suprise, lifted his cloak from his broad shoulders and set it on my back. Because I was quite a bit smaller than him, the cloak wrapped all the way around my body so the only part of me exposed was my head.

Now I was _really _shivering. But it had nothing to do with the cold I could no longer feel.

"Thank you." I forced out with as much dignity as possible. Since when did I speak in such monotone?

He shrugged. "After all these years, I don't feel the cold anymore. It took me ages to get used to it."

"How long have you been here?" I asked cautiously. Caution was not a feeling I was familliar with.

"I've lost track, to be quite honest. I grew up here, then I...left...for about a decade..." (Was that a hint of deep-rooted sadness in his tone?) "...and when I came back to the Vampire world, I spent most of my time fighting battles wherever I could and chasing down Vampaneze. But since I became a Prince I spend more than half my time in here."

"Is it fun being a Prince?" Oh my gods. And the prize for stupidest question in history goes to Kayden Stone. I thought he'd roll his eyes and say something sarcastic -I mean, that's what I do when people ask me dumb things. But to my ever-increasing suprise, he laughed.

"It definitley has its moments." he said with a slight smile. "Like...every time you run into the heat of a battle with one of the greatest armies in the world at your back, ready to fight and die beside you...it's undescribable." There was definitley more than a hint of fierce passion in his voice.

That truly hit home for me.

"I know!" I breathed, trying not to sound too eager. "I mean...my only army was Storm...and he was useless in a fight. But there's nothing else like it." I agreed with him wholeheartedly.

He arched an eyebrow. "You must be good, if you've kept yourself _and_ him alive single-handedly for all these years."

"Only six years." I added modestly. Since when was I modest about anything? Especially my fighting skills?

But I had no time to wonder because now we'd arrived at the entrance to the Hall of Princes. Arrow laid his hand on the magic panel and the doors swung open to admit us. The Hall wasn't crowded because everyone was off preparing for tonight's Festival, but the few Vampires in the hall quickly moved out of our way. Or out of Arrow's way, was more accurate. He moved not particularly fast, but with a purpose. Every eye in the room was on him, and they were all brimming with respect and admiration.

Now I knew why.

I stopped and watched as he walked up to the thrones and exchanged some brief words with Mika Ver Leth who -judging by the way he rolled his eyes and half-glanced at me- had just been told about Storm's treachery. Arrow then stepped back to the Stone of Blood where he set his hand on the pulsating red surface and looked deeply in thought for several moments, before coming back over to me, looking half-troubled and half-amused.

"Kayden, take a guess as to where Storm is right now."

I closed my eyes for a moment, knowing the answer.

"In a bar, drunk off his ass and surrounded by women." I said dully.

Arrow nodded in quiet affirmation.

"He obviously flitted, to get that far so fast." Mika snapped, stepping into the conversation. "The cheap, dirty, lying sonnova-"

Arrow held up a hand and Mika shut his mouth.

"It's okay, I was thinking the same thing." I said with a weary smile. All the anger was gone now. There was only exhaustion, and I wanted to crawl back to my cell and curl up on my coffin.

"What are you going to do now?" Mika asked sharply.

"As if I've had a chance to consider it!" I retorted just as sharply.

The dark Prince shook his head in a warning matter, and amped up his ever-present death glare. Being the cocky belligerent lady I am, I returned the look. Juding by his facial expression, it didn't look like he was usually on the recieving end of a glare.

"You could go after him. We could help you find him." Arrow mentioned, with a steely glint in his eyes that lit a fire inside me. He was right, we could chase Storm down, find him, humilliate him, and...and...

And what? Kill him? Of course not. Hurt him? Why bother. Force him to take me back? That would only be an insult to myself, because like I'd already established, he didn't want me.

"Arrow, we have plenty of business to attend to right here in this Mountain. Hunting down that man would be a waste of time." Mika growled.

Arrow regarded him coldly, and didn't reply. Then he turned his hundred-degree gaze back onto me. What did I feel? Intimidated? Empowered? Awe-struck?

"It's up to you." he told me.

"Mik- I mean, Sire Ver Leth is right." I sighed. "Storm's not worth it."

"Right." Arrow nodded, sounding almost dissapointed.

Mika rolled his eyes and clapped his colleage on the shoulder, saying "There'll be plenty of other fights worthy of your ferocity, my friend." Then he retreated from us and walked out of the Hall, beckoning a group of guards to follow him.

"Um, thanks for offering though...Sire." I offered awkwardly.

Arrow cracked an effortless smile and tilted his head to the side as he looked down at me, as though trying to decide what to make of me.

I tried to meet his gaze, but the fact that I couldn't do it unnerved me.

I'd never been more unlike myself than I was today.

"So." he said at last.

"So." I echoed breathlessly.

"What _are _you going to do now?" he repeated Mika's question, but I didn't notice because the tone he used was completely the opposite as his dark comrade.

I stole a glance upwards into his intense eyes, then went back to looking at the toes of my boots.

"Stay as far away from Storm as possible." I answered honestly.

He nodded slowly, taking it in.

"Your paths will cross again someday." For a moment, it looked like he was about to reach out and take my hand, but seemed to decide against it at the last second, and brought the hand upwards to casually rub the back of his neck.

"Yeah um, I guess they will." I mumbled awkwardly.

"And when they do, you'll be ready for it." he added gently.

"I hope it's not for a really long time." I confessed.

"You'll be okay. You're tough, I can tell."

I shrugged my shoulders modestly -again with the modesty? What was I doing?- and said,

"I can hold my own in a fight, that's about it. I've never dealt with anything like this."

Of course I didn't count the time my best friend ran off with my first love. That's an insignificant detail from an insignificant human life.

"If fighting is your strength, this is the best place in the world to perfect it." he told me. "You're here at a good time, there's a bunch of other young Vampires you can train with, you'd fit right in. They all live here full-time...if you decide that's what you want, there's plenty of room for you and we always welcome new warriors to the clan."

"I'd like that, I think." I answered almost before he'd finished the sentence.

"They're probably in the Hall of Games right now, if you'd like to go see what it's all about." he replied.

I thought for a moment...I'd been hell-bent on tracking down some more blankets and then sleeping away the rest of the day in my cozy coffin.

But...that wouldn't have been me. I already felt so far gone from my usual self, I couldn't let my personality slip away any farther.

So I followed Arrow, mighty Prince of the Vampires, down through the halls of Vampire Mountain, feeling more at home with every step I took.

"Welcome to the Hall of Games, Kayden. "

Here I was. Damn what a place! We stood in one main chamber, huge and roomy with other caverns visible off to the side. There was a network of bars to our left, like a deadly playground. I noted with a smirk that the girl I'd seen earlier -Arra, was it?- practising alone on the bars, swinging a sort of staff-thing. Sure she looked pretty deadly, but no one had seen _me_ work a sword yet.

"Hey, Kayden!"

I swung around at the sound of my name. It was Gavner, he was standing on the right end of the hall with 3 other Vampires, all holding wooden staffs.

"Gavner!" I greeted, happy to see a familliar face. I trotted over to join the group, meeting their stares as they looked me up and down, taking me in. I observed them too, they were an interesting assorment.

There was Gavner, who I thought was the most down-to-earth looking one, strong and reasonably good looking. Beside him there was a smaller, slender Vampire with an intelligent face, wide blue eyes, and straight blond hair that fell to his shoulders. There was also a tall one with incredibly pale skin, mostly bald other than a shocking crop of bright orange. Next to him was -this suprised me- another girl. She was fairly young, curvy with humungous eyes and thick blonde hair. My first impression was that she's one of those women that all men find attractive, and all other women find obnoxious.

"Hii Kaydee!" she gushed the moment I got within earshot, sounding way too enthusiastic for my liking.

_Kaydee's not my name, bitch. _Call me quick to judge, but I already had a bad feeling about this lady.

"Hi!" I greeted with a moderate amount of enthusiasm. Despite my foreboding, I wanted to make friends here without looking like I was trying too hard. She hurried forward and shook my hand.

"I'm Alexine! It'll be sooo nice to have another girl in the mountain!" She lowered her voice to a stage whisper. "Between you and me, Arra is a bit of a phsyco bitch."

"'Zeen, we can all hear you." muttered the orange-haird Vampire.

_Huh? Zeen? Short for Alexine? That's real clever. What kind of place is this?_

'Zeen' rolled her apple-green eyes. The eyes of a two-faced little drama queen, I could just see it now.

"It's not a crime to be honest, Larten. You were thinking it too." she chided him in a whiney tone.

The man called Larten bristled.

"I was not thinking anything of the sort."

Alexine turned her big green eyeballs over to the others.

"Kurda, Gavner? Back me up?"

"You're doing fine on your own." said the blond, arching his eyebrows. Then he turned to me. "Nice to meet you, Kayden. My name's Kurda Smahlt."

"Hey, Kurda." I said. This one seemed to be normal like Gavner. I was relieved, to say the least.

"And you remember me?" Gavner added, stepping forward -still wearing the same smile.

"Of course." I added, returning the smile with genuinity.

"How's the training coming?" another familliar voice boomed behind me. Arrow walked up to us and stood...right beside me.

"Sire." murmured Larten, Kurda, and Gavner, bowing. Alexine bowed too, but the way she flipped her hair and batted her eyes made me edgy.

"Has Vanez got you practicing on each other yet, or are you still slashing dummies?" the Prince inquired.

"We started duelling 2 weeks ago." Larten stated proudly.

"I have the bruises to prove it." Kurda grunted.

Arrow chuckled. I rolled my eyes. There's a pretty-boy in every group.

"Maybe if you sucked it up and learned how to fight." a cold, female voice interjected. I looked up to see Arra striding purposefully over to the group. She bowed curtly to Arrow.

"Good evening, Sire. I know this group has only begun duelling recently, but Vanez took me on a raid a month ago, and I have been practice-fighting for over 3 months. I thought I should inform you so you don't assume I'm on the same level as the others." she informed him briskly.

Arrow inclined his head politely. "Thank you for telling me, Arra. I will keep that in mind."

"Have you chosen fighters for the next raid yet?" she asked abruptly, with a hint of hope in her voice.

"We've been casually considering a few." Arrow replied evenly. "We'll announce them the day after the Festival."

"Thank you, Sire." said Arra reverently, bowing a bit deeper than necessary.

"Where's the army raiding this time?" Gavner asked curiously.

"We've heard definite news the Vampaneze have a temporary fort in a small town 500 miles south of the Mountain. We're going to take some prisoners and find out what they've been up to." said Arrow with a glint of battle in his eyes.

"Perfect way for you to cap off a Festival, eh Sire?" barked a new voice. "3 days of drinking, then ripping through a pod of Vampaneze. Sounds like your perfect week."

Another man stepped up beside us and clapped Arrow on the shoulder. Arrow tilted his head back and laughed good-naturedly.

"You know me well, Vanez. Kayden, this is Vanez Blane. He's recently taken the post of Games Master here."

"Nice to meet you." I extended my hand and observed him. He was tall, incredibly muscular with dark brown hair and a slight mustache...and a bandage wrapped around the side of his head, obscuring one of his eyes. I must have been staring (again) because he deftly unwrapped the bandage and pulled it off, exposing a bloody hole where his eyeball should have been, surrounded by long, narrow half-healed scratches.

"If you think that's ugly, you should see the other guy!" he quipped merrily.

"Tiger, wasn't it?" said Arrow conversationally. Kurda, Larten, Gavner, and Alexine recoiled in disgust. It seemed Arra was the only person not preturbed by the grotesque wound - other than me. Arrow continued; "You really shouldn't keep taking that thing off, Seba will amputate your head if he has to replace that bandage again."

"It was a lion." Vanez corrected. "I ate him for dinner just hours after he did this to me! Ah, the mission to Africa... I'd do it again in a heartbeat!"

"Don't even think about it." Arrow smirked. "We need you here, someone has to bring the Vampire Army back to it's former glory."

"You flatter me." Vanez grinned wolfishly. "But it took me a month just to teach young Kurda here to hold a sword properly! I'm not as spectacular as everyone seems to think."

"Well, if your students become half the warriors you are, I'll be grateful." Arrow declared. "Anyway, I have business to attend to, so I'll leave you to it. Luck to you all!"

His fierce gaze swept us one last time, then he turned and exited the Hall leaving a feeling of admiration so strong it gave me goosebumps.

With the Prince gone, all eyes turned to the second most interesting thing in the room - me.

"Well, Kayden." said Vanez with a battle-ready glint in his eyes not unlike Arrow's. "What can you do in combat?"

"I can take down a Vampaneze twice my size, and I can hold off up to 3 at once." I stated simply. It wasn't bragging, it was the truth. I'd done it, more than once.

"Impressive." Vanez breathed, fixing his one eye on me.

"I do what I have to do to stay alive." I replied.

"Who taught you?" Gavner inqured with awe.

"Not Storm, that's for sure." Alexine smirked. "I've seen him fight, or try to. He couldn't even take on Kurda!"

Kurda blushed but didn't say anything.

Despite Storm's betrayal, her insult against him still made me bristle.

"He may not have been a warrior but he taught me how to stay alive, and that's something you don't learn in a 'Hall of Games'." I returned icily.

Alexine smiled coldly.

"Mmm, I'm sure you've learned _plenty_ living in the wild with Storm Lex."

Her tone was chipper and friendly, but a smart girl can spot a fake from a mile away.

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" I hissed with such venom that she took a step back and blinked in suprise.

Gavner, Kurda, and Larten exchanged looks of excitement. Arra stared at us with the slightest hint of amusement.

"That's enough." Vanez grunted. "Kayden, you can take on Arra. If you're as good as you say you are...well, this will be an interesting fight."

He handed me a long wooden staff like the one Arra was holding. She stepped forwards with a perturbed expression, rolling her eyes at Vanez.

"I have to go get ready for the festival soon, this won't take long _at all_." she promised cooly.

"Don't count the bodies before they're dead." I drawled. It was one of Storm's favourite sayings, but I doubt he invented it himself.

"Careful, ladies!" twittered Alexine.

"What's the point of all these mock battles? What will this possibly accomplish?" Kurda agonized. I take back what I said about thinking he was normal.

"Arra, go easy on her." Larten implored.

Arra shot him half a glare, then lunged at me. I didn't expect her to start in so soon, but I didn't wait around to pay for my stupid mistake. I cranked my body to the side, ducking on an angle to avoid being struck by her staff. It grazed me, but I escaped the full impact. I'd never fought with a stupid piece of wood, I owned a sword that Storm gave me. It was all I'd ever fought with, simple and sharp. It had never failed me. Why anyone would fight with a stick was beyond me, but this wasn't the time to wonder. She was coming at me again and I hadn't recovered from the first attack. This time, I raised my staff and slammed it down on hers, effectively stopping it from cracking my ribs. I wrenched my staff downwards, breaking her grip. She half-dropped it, but recovered to swing it upwards for a painful hit to my collarbone.

"AGGH!" I snarled, jerking backwards. I wanted to touch the affected spot for an estimate of the damage, but her next move required the use of both of my hands. She swung her staff wide and tried to take out my ankles, but I was fueled by pain now as well as fury. I dodged the blow and managed to give her a hard whack to the ribs. Instead of roaring like an animal in pain (like me) she gave me the biggest death glare I'd ever seen in my life. I'd fought 6-foot tall Vampaneze soldiers that weren't this grumpy. Then we tried to strike each other at the same time, coming in on a symmetrical angle. She calculated this before I could process it, and adjusted her hold on the staff. I didn't know why, until I heard my staff crack on impact. Arra had altered her grip to seperate pressure points so her staff didn't snap like a twig. If she hadn't, hers would have been totalled as well as mine. Mine wasn't completely snapped, but it would only be good for a few more hits. So I made them work. I slammed the butt of my staff down onto her foot, and pushed on it with all my might, despite the throbbing ache in my collarbone. Then to finish the job, I darted my foot between hers, and twisted. With her left foot immobilized by my staff, she couldn't gain her balance and toppled to the floor.

"You were right, that didn't take long at all." I said, pushing my hair up out of my eyes. I treated Arra to the widest grin I could manage, then offered her my hand. To my shock, she ignored my friendly gesture and removed her shoe to check for damage on the foot I'd almost impaled.

"This is going to be swollen for days!" she snapped viciously, massaging the foot.

"My shoulder doesn't feel the greatest either. I'd say we're equal." I sneered, looking down at it. There was already an ugly bruise forming.

"You don't have to walk on your shoulder." she shot back with equal venom, slowly getting up and limping away without another word. The orange-haired Larten followed her like a puppy, and the others came over to me.

"Wow, Kaydee. You kicked her ass!" Alexine squealed.

"Um, hardly. She could have just as easily killed me." I breathed, slightly reeling from the victory.

"But no one's ever beaten her!"

"'Till now." Gavner grinned, patting me on the shoulder. "Hopefully this takes her down a few pegs."

"It better." I commented flatly. "Or else I'll go insane, because she is one of the most infuriating people I've ever met."

"That was..admirable." said Kurda with a tight smile.

I cocked my head to the side and stared down at him.

"What do you have against fighting?"

"I don't have anything against it, really. I just don't see why our culture is based around it." he explained philosophically.

"Then why are you a Vampire?" I blurted out stupidly.

He rolled his blue eyes.

"Long, long story. But I'm sure it's not as entertaining as yours."

I reddened. Gavner wasn't kidding, word travelled fast inside this rock. I felt my face redden.

"Watch it, Smahlt." I growled. But there wasn't any real fire behind the words because for the first time in days, I felt at peace.

It had been a long 6 years since I'd been in a home. But this place... kindly Gavner, would-be warrior princess Arra, wimpy Kurda, intolerable Alexine, fiesty Larten, clever Seba, gentle Paris, moody Mika, and the sheer force of nature that was Arrow... I felt like I'd known them for decades.

It was time to step out of my mentor's shadow and leave a mark in the ancient stones of Vampire Mountain.

I looked around and subconsciously released the breath I'd been holding throughout weeks of travel.

_Could it be? Maybe. _

_Home._

* * *

_Am I gonna quit? Nice of you to ask, but..._

* * *

Review always, my beautifuls.

rxx


	3. I Don't Care, I Love It

EDITED: chapters 5 and 6 combined

Lyrics property of Icona Pop, _I Love It_

* * *

_I got this feeling on the summer day when you were gone._  
_I crashed my car into the bridge. I watched, I let it burn._  
_I threw your shit into a bag and pushed it down the stairs._  
_I crashed my car into the bridge._

* * *

There's a general rule that Vampires are supposed to be rough 'n tough, wild 'n free, etcetera. Cozy comforts prohibited. Live off the land, dress modestly, don't indulge in fancy human trinkets. Stay the hell away from high heels.

Apparently these rules don't apply to Alexine Hadley.

She'd literally forced me at swordpoint (seriously, she stole one from Vanez and held it up to my face. I _think_ she was kidding.) to let her give me a makeover for the start of the Festival tonight.

I'm no diva. But I'm not a man either, I haven't gotten dressed up in years, and I do mean _years_. So I obliged.

I found myself sitting on her bed -that's right, a bed. Not a coffin. I wonder what poor man carried this to the Mountain for her- as she fluttered around the room like an annoying bird, pawing through various crates that held her articles of clothing. I'd been here less than a day and it was clear to me that she had more posessions than everyone else in the mountain combined. Other than the rough stoney walls, this could almost have been a human's bedroom. There was a giant bearskin rug on the floor (complete with head and claws) a table covered in perfume, makeup, hair things, and jewellery, and a neat little water-closet off to the side. There wasn't a dresser, but she had a system of wooden boxes to store her clothes - a whole lot of ruffles and frills from the look of things.

"You really don't have to do this. I'll just wear what I'm wearing now." I offered for the umpteenth time, examining my not-so-fancy fingernails.

"No way!" she trilled, flashing a white grin from behind the gown she was examining. "Arra never lets me dress her up, gods she's practically a boy. This will be fun!"

I giggled despite myself. "I'm telling her you said that."

Alexine shrugged her skinny shoulders and smirked. "Go right ahead, darling. She knows what I think of her! We sorta don't see eye-to-eye."

"You don't say!" I exasperated, leaning back on the soft bed. I loved living wild, but I missed this kind of comfort. "How'd you get this bed up here?"

She stuffed the current gown back into the crate, and rummaged in a different one while talking in her breathy little-girl voice that reminded me of my youngest sister.

"Well, I told Gray there was no way in hell I was sleeping in a coffin, and I'd rather leave him than sleep on the floor, so he brought my bed with us when we came here. He'd do anything for me." she tilted her head to the side, puppy-like, as she said this.

"Back up, who's Gray?" I inquired. "He must be a hell of a man to carry a mattress all the way to Vampire Mountain."

"My husband!" she giggled happily as though she'd been waiting for me to ask. Then she sat down beside me with an armful of gowns and snuggled them to her chest in a spasm of bliss. I rolled my eyes.

"I guess I should tell you the story of us." she sighed dreamily, up to her nose in colourful ruffles. "I met this am_aaaaaaa_zing man, 9 years ago. Strong, big shoulders, drop-dead gorgeous, brave, _great_ in bed."

(I think I turned green at this point.)

"So we date for 3 months, and then he proposes to me in a field of flowers under the prettiest moon you've ever ever seen-"

"I've only ever seen one moon." I just couldn't resist putting that in, but she went on like she hadn't heard me.

"-and we got married the very next night!" her voice practically ached with painful sweetness, as though she was inwardly drowning in romance. Ick.

"Thats's so nice!" I said forcefully. Probably the biggest lie I've ever told.

"And then he tells me a few weeks later...he's a Vampire!"

"You married a Vampire and didn't know it?" I snapped incredulously, forgetting to check myself. "You didn't notice _anything_ strange about him?"

"I just figured he was a night owl." she shrugged with an oblivious little smile.

I looked away so she didn't see the face I was making. She continued her attempt at romanticizing her life story.

"He was a General, and he met me while he was on a mission. Hunting Vampanezes or something like that, I forget exactly what he was doing-"

(Of course she'd forget the one thing I'd find interesting.)

"-but when he told me he lived in a mountain during his down-time, I told him I was either ripping up our marriage papers, or he could live with me. And he knew what was good for him, so he chose me." She recited this with the smuggest expression I'd ever seen.

"How'd you end up here?" Forgive me for being blunt, but I was eager for this to end.

"There was a bunch of Vampaneze problems, and they tried to track him down and they almost killed us." She gave an affected little shiver. "So he said Vampire Mountain was the safest place for me, and we packed up and came here. Gods, I never got as many dirty looks as when the people here saw us carry the mattress in. They're just jealous. Now he's off fighting all the time, and I live inside a rock." the tiniest hint of sadness crept into her voice, and I felt an equally tiny bit of sympathy.

"I'm sorry." I offered. "I know how you feel, it's a bit...different...in here."

Then I realized something she'd left out.

"So...you're a human, then?"

"Pfffff, no silly! I wouldn't be living in this place without a couple drops of Vampire blood. I'm half. Gray blooded me."

"Gray who?" I pressed, in case I'd heard of him.

"That's my husband. Grayson Hadley. He's a r_eee_ally high-up General, he'll probably even be a Prince someday."

Nope, never heard of him. But I smiled and nodded.

Just then, in stepped our good friend Arra Sails. She looked right past me and dead-eyed Alexine.

"Zeen, the black skirt you borrowed from me last month. I need it." my black-haired rival spoke cooly.

"Oooh, Arra! Getting fancy tonight, are we?" the blonde replied ecstatically.

"Just give me the skirt. Please." Arra grunted through clenched teeth.

"Here it is!" grinned Alexine, scampering over to one of the crates and whipping out a bundle of black material with a bit of lace. "Larten will love you in it."

"And why would I care Larten's opinion?" Arra asked. Her tone was even, but her expression wasn't. She turned _red_. And she didn't strike me as the blushing type.

"I don't know, why would you?" Alexine shot back playfully.

Arra rolled her eyes and turned to retreat, but a quick comment from Alexine stopped her:

"Girl, if you think I'm letting you go out there with hair like _that_, you're crazy!"

"_You're_ crazy if you think I'm letting you anywhere near my hair."

"Too bad, sit down!" Alexine chirped, hurrying forward and grabbing the Vampiress by the arm, pulling her back into the room.

What I found funny was that Arra could have easily ripped her arm from the meddler's grasp, but instead she chose to go along with it while muttering furiously under her breath.

And at that moment, I realized how much I'd missed just being a girl. Vampire Mountain was the last place in the universe I'd expect to be re-living the feeling of pure glamour. Oh, this was going to be _fun_.

###

"What were you _thinking_, Zeen?" Arra growled under her breath, tugging at a fresh black curl. "I hate curls. I thought you just said you were going to neaten it up a bit."

"I made you pretty, that's a big achievment. Don't complain. Now hold still, your eyes look like you've been awake for days." Alexine retorted sweetly.

"I _have_ been awake for days. We don't all overdose on beauty sleep. Some of us have a raid to prepare for." Arra glowered, but nonetheless held still as Alexine dusted some powder onto her eyelids. "And whatever you're putting on me better be a natural colour. Gods help you if it's pink."

"It's fiiiine, Arra." sighed Alexine, neatly adding blush.

I'd been watching pretty quietly, but at this point I interjected.

"What's this raid everyone's talking about?"

"Nooo idea." said Alexine boredly, applying eyeliner to a cringing Arra.

"You haven't got a clue, do ya Zeen?" muttered the reciever of the eyeliner. "Every few months, the Princes send armies out on raids to wipe out opposing armies before they can hurt us, if they hear about suspicious Vampaneze activity. Right now, there's a troop of them on the way to stalk Vampire Mountain, they plan to prowl the area and camp out until they can catch a Vampire they can torture for inside information."

My gut clenched.

"How do we know?"

"We have spies." Arra answered with a grim smile as Alexine finished the makeup job. "I don't know much about it, but they only pick the best fighters for raids. And they don't always take assistants like us. But I've proved myself, so they'll take me for sure. I know it."

She sounded pretty confident, but I detected a hint that she was trying to convince herself, rather than me.

"Arra! Kade! Stop talking about battle stuff and start getting ready!" Alexine whined from across the room, where she'd laid out an intimidating assortment of dresses.

"Where'd you get all these? Does this Mountain have a gift shop I don't know about?" I gasped, starting at the array of garments with a dumb expression on my face. I've never liked dresses (or had a reason to wear one) but these were beautiful.

"Oh, Gray picks them up here and there. Every time he goes on a mission, he brings me back a little something." she responded shrilly.

"I've overheard the other Generals talk about kicking him off the hunting team next time he insists on taking a detour to go buy woman's clothes." Arra muttered in a tone too low for Alexine to hear.

"You're wearing _this_ one, Arra." the little blonde informed us with a tone of finality, holding up a little black dress strapless dress with a glittering torso section and a floaty skirt.

"Oh really?" Arra snorted. "I came in here to get my skirt. It's bad enough I let you mess up my hair, and draw on my eyes. There's no way in hell I'm getting near that thing."

"But Larten would love it!" I teased, mimicking what Alexine had said earlier. I really had no idea what Larten would and wouldn't like. But if he was anything like any other man on the planet, he'd love a woman in _that_ dress.

Arra sent me a sharp glare, but I ignored it.

"Okay, where's mine?" I hate to admit it, but I was eager now.

"Patience, darling." Alexine smirked. But it was time for a typical Kayden move - I pushed right past her like a runaway train and carefully inspected the row of dresses. Nothing stood out to me right away...nothing combined the perfect cut with a killer colour. If I was going to wear a dress, I was going to do it right.

Meanwhile, Arra and Alexine were locked in mortal combat: Arra was trying to leave the room, and Alexine was barring the door with annoyingly superior grin on her face.

I still found it funny that Arra didn't just shove her out of the way and make a break for it. I could see right through her, she desperately wanted to look amazing tonight, but she had to keep up her hard-ass reputation. She'd wear the dress alright, but she wouldnt go down without pretending to put up a fight.

I blocked out Alexine's whiney protests and Arra's gravelly death threats and I kept searching, and came up with a few options which I laid out on the bed: a dark blue halter-dress, floor-length and body-hugging, with a diamond design on the neckline. A black one-strap , knee length. A short, white one with skinny straps. Would look amazing with my cowboy boots.

But none of them screamed my name..

Until a flash of red in Alexine's hand caught my eye. She'd won the fight, Arra was now donning the black dress with only half a glare, and Alexine was digging through another crate, throwing a selection of gowns onto the other side of the bed.

"Can I see that one?" I snapped impatiently, reaching for the red one. Her face cracked into an angelic grin.

"Might as well just put it on now, it was _made_ for you." she oozed delightedly, handing me the dress. I arched my eyebrows and observed it.

It wasn't shockingly fancy, but I fell in love with it the second the fabric touched my hands. I hugged it against my body, perfect. I was about to strip down and pull on the dress, but there was a loud knock at the door so I gave up that endeavor...just in case. Arra pulled on a cloak quickly, as though trying to hide something.

"It's not illegal to look nice, Arra." I smirked.

I got the death glare, no suprise.

"Come in!" Alexine called.

A burly man with dark iron-coloured hair strode through the door, looking eagerly around until his eyes fell on Alexine and his face lit up instantly.

"GRAY!" she squealed, springing across the room and landing in his arms.

"Zeenie..." he mumbled happily with his face immersed in her fluffy blond locks. "I missed you."

"Me tooo." she responded in her high, whiney tone. "How was your trip?"

"Not as bad as we thought it'd be. We lost a man when we took down the second mad Vampaneze, but-"

"Who did we lose?" barked Arra.

"Clayton." Gray replied in a somber tone.

A wave of misery crossed Arra's face. "He was one of the best...and so young..."

"I know. The Vampaneze that took him down was like nothing we'd ever seen before." continued Gray with a dull-eyed expression.

I opened my mouth to ask him a question, I wanted to know where they'd been, what they'd been dealing with, but Alexine swiftly cut me off, apparently desperate to get off the topic.

"Are you okay?" she whimpered, scrutinizing him with her luminous green gaze.

"I'm fine-"

"Then why are we still talking about Vampanezes?" she demanded

"Zeen, one of our men _died_." Arra uttered with soft coldness.

Alexine hesitated, but plowed through.

"Which is very sad, but I mean, they'll honour him and everything. We can`t bring him back by wasting time when we _could _be getting ready for the Festival.

"You're missing the point." I snorted in frustration. What a selfish little-

"Nevermind. She's hopeless." Arra snapped, adressing me. "I'll drink to Clayton's memory tonight with my comrades. Don't feel the need to stress yourself by showing any sympathy, Alexine."

"Alright then." the blonde smiled, clearly not getting it.

"I got you something." Gray chimed in, handing his worn-out leather backpack to his wife, who grinned as though she'd been waiting for this.

"Don't take it out yet, I'll see it when you wear it tonight." he continued, smiling in a way that reminded me of Storm.

"Then you better get going." she teased, gently pushing him out of the room.

"See you tonight, beautiful." he said before she slammed the door. She ignored his romantic compliment and whipped the bag open and withdrew a fold of long, shimmering fabric in a hazy gold colour.

She immediately stripped down, barely giving Arra and me time to cover our eyes, and yanked the gown on as fast as she could, then stared obsessively at herself in the cracked mirror, positively exuding vanity. I was suprised she wasn't drooling. The gown was pretty though, form-fitted, floor-length, with a deep plunging neckline - no wonder her husband chose it!- and ruffles with diamond details around the waist. Very nice.

My lips curved upwards in a contented smirk - my dress was still better.

###

When we walked into the Hall of Stahrvos Glen, the energy in the atmosphere gave me goosebumps. It seemed every nerve in the place was on fire, the hundreds of tightly-packed Vampires were ready to let loose.

Arra, Alexine and I were among the last to walk in - which means there were all the more heads to turn! There aren't excactly an abundance of Vampire women, so we probably would have turned heads even if we showed up in pajamas. But I had to admit, we were dressed to kill.

Arra had messed up her curls in a wild way that made Alexine cringe, but I thought the look suited her much better. Combined with a black pearl necklace, black boots, and her jaw-dropping dress, she looked darkly gorgeous.

Alexine looked the opposite, nonetheless pretty, but not exactly Vampiric. She'd rubbed a sticky substance into her hair and mussed it so it looked twice as thick, slightly wavy. She'd also utilized some killer white heels. Topped off with the gold dress and a scary diamond necklace and earrings, her husband wasn't the only man staring like a hungry wolf.

And there was me. My dress was knee-length - so everyone could see my cowboy boots - and it was a dark red colour that complimented my strawberry-blond hair. I hadn't styled my hair, it was perfectly straight naturally, falling halfway down my back. My only acessory was a necklace I'd had since I was a human. It looked like a star, but it was really a spur rowel, studded with diamonds. I'm not a jewellery person, but I adore that necklace.

The 3 of us walked through a narrow part through the crowd, to the southwest corner of the Hall where we could see Gavner, Larten, Kurda, and Gray.

"You look...wonderful." Larten gulped. A hot pink flush flowed into his cheeks. He cast his tone to all 3 of us, but his eyes were fixed on Arra, who took it in stride, only smiling slightly. She nodded curtly. Alexine launched into an explanation of exactly how she got her hair so luscious -on the off chance that anyone gave half a shit- and I cast my eyes to the front of the room where Paris, Mika, and Arrow were standing in a row, waiting to address us. Paris wore a glowing smile despite his ancient features. Mika looked happier than I'd seen him yet. He scanned the crowd with his shrewd eyes, elbowed Arrow and muttered something in his ear. Arrow's eyes lit up for a second and a smirk brightened his face. I could tell he didn't smile much. He did't exude gloominess to the same extent as Mika, but there was something there...like hidden underlying pain? Guilt? Grief? Anger? I didn't know. I didn't even know him, I was just gleaning what I could from the surface. What I did know for sure was that when he did smile, it was infectuous.

Maybe too much so.

"Whatcha smilin' at, Kaydee?" Alexine wheedled, jerking me out of the reverie I hadn't realized I'd been in.

"Um." I repiled smoothly.

"See something you like?" she sniggered, sidling up to me to watch the throng of Vampires in front of us.

"Hard to pick just one." I supplied awkwardly.

"Oh I _know_." she purred, catching the eye of a man who'd turned to check us out. She winked at him, and he grinned rougishly.

"Easy, tiger." I snorted. "Your husband's right there."

She shrugged playfully.

"Hey, Gray's almost never here. I've made friends here, it'd be rude to ignore them."

I decided not to ask. I didn't want her to elaborate on that one. Knowing her, I'd find out anyway.

Then Paris Skyle stepped forward and a deep, reverential silence filled the Hall.

"Welcome to Vampire Mountain!" he boomed. His tone was soft but powerful as it managed to radiate across the entire room, hitting the people in the back just a clearly as if we'd been standing in the front.

"We would like to thank you all for making the journey to be with us this week." Mika added.

"And we hope your stay is comfortable." Arrow concluded.

A mighty cheer rose up from the assembled Creatures of the Night. I found myself joining in. The sound of the tumultuos ferocity around me and the euphoric scream ripping out of my own throat felt like I was part of something bigger.

"Before we all lose ourselves to our great festival, let us take a moment to respect the mighty Vampires that have passed into the afterlife since our last gathering." Paris announced.

The horde fell silent, save for a few excited mutterings.

Arrow held up a list and began to recite the names.

I listened, hopelessly captivated by his deep, slow, powerful voice. The names he spoke meant nothing to me, but I was enraptured nonetheless. For a split second, it felt like he was speaking directly to me, murmuring strange and ancient Vampiric names into my ear.

When we collectively chanted "Even in death may he be triumphant!" for the final name, a crazy feeling shot down my spine. The same feeling I got when my horse leaped several strides before exploding into full gallop. When I charged into a duel with a foe I was only half-sure I could beat. It was danger mixed with freedom, with a hint of wild-hearted fun.

And then mighty Vampire Mountain exploded.

###

I always fancied myself as a bit of a wild child, but it took me a few minutes to find my bearings and gather my wits as the good-natured turmoil reigned across the Hall, spilling out into the corridoors and into the other massive chambers. Vampires were fighting each other all over the place, I actually had to watch where I stepped. They basically carpeted the floor with brawling limbs and writhing bodies, laughter echoing raucously off the walls.

Not to mention the drinking. There was a long table down the side of the Hall, a makeshift bar. Except for the drinks were self-serve, and seemingly unlimited. I decided to dip into that a bit later.

Behind me, I heard a familliar voice bellow,

"RAAARRGGGH!"

And another moan,

"Ge'off me, goddamn!"

I turned around and let loose a loud laugh. Gavner had suprise-tackled Kurda to the floor, and was seemingly using it as an attempt to knock some fighting skills into the blond.

"WHAT are you DOING?" Kurda whined, trying to push his large friend off to the side.

"You're not gonna save yourself like _that_!" Gavner scolded happily. "What if I was a Vampaneze on a killing spree? I wouldn't even feel your little punches!"

"Now's not the time for teaching." Kurda glared up at him.

"It's the perfect time." Arra contradicted. "It's the Festival of the Undead, you can't refuse a challenge.

"HE DIDN'T CHALLENGE ME!" Kurda wailed angrily. "He just knocked me over!"

"More fight, less talk!" I snapped playfully.

"Seriously, if I was a Vampaneze, what would you do?" Gavner added.

"This." said Kurda, rolling sharply to one side and digging his pointed elbow into the soft underside of Gavner's elbow, causing his arm to buckle and his grip to cease.

"Well." said Gavner, dusting himself off and getting up. "I let you have that one."

Kurda smirked and walked away, weaving carefully through the battling Vampires.

"I'll take over for Gav next time and show you a thing or two!" I called to his retreating back. He waved vaguely over his shoulder.

Yep, one in every pack.

"Kaydee, let's get drinks!" none other than Alexine piped up.

"You read my mind!"

We edged our way through seas of fighting Vampires, and I strongly regretted wearing a dress. I could have taken some of these guys on. There were some that probably would have been to gnarly and strong for me to beat, but my size and agility could definitley have won over some of these uncoordinated fist-swings. Screw the dress, I decided. As pretty as I felt, I'm a true jeans-and-tank-top girl. I was gonna run back to my cell and change at the next opportunity.

Alexine weaved smoothy between the hordes, tossing out an occasional smile and wave, which was returned by a whistle or catcall. Then I realized Gray wasn't following us, she'd left him in the corner chatting boredly with Larten and Gavner.

"You have a lot of friends here." I commented.

"They don't all live here, they come and go." she replied casually. "But I'm good at making friends. I mean, it's not thaat hard. Gray's almost never here. A girl has to keep herself...busy." she finished with a happy wink.

My jaw dropped. I wasn't exactly suprised at the implication, but still. Low move, making a hobby out of cheating on the man who practically breaks his back to give you the life of a human inside the world of the Vampires. And that's what he gets in return. Dirty.

"Are you kidding me?" I snorted.

"No, why would I kid you?" she giggled. "We're like sisters now, and sisters share secrets! Right?"

_You are so not my sister._

I forced a smile, which probably looked more like a snarl, but she didn't notice because she was too busy making naughty eyes at a hungry-looking Vampire to our left. Gag me.

When we finally got to the makeshift bar, there was a full-on shot contest commencing. Two Vampires, one fat and one tall, were standing at the ready. Each had a line of at least 20 shot glasses in front of them.

Mika Ver Leth was standing by, watching the scene with more interest than I'd seen him show anything. A crowd was gathering, chanting the names of the Vampires in front of the glasses - Koto and Charlen.

"3...2...1...BEGIN!" Mika bellowed, punching his fist into the air and the delighted bellows from the crowd reached its peak.

"DRINK, DRINK, DRINK, DRINK, DRINK!"

I couldn't help but join in, the hilarity was infectuous.

"DRRRIIINKK!" I screamed loudly, probably blowing out the eardrum of the fellow in front of me.

"C'MON BOYS!" Alexine roared even louder than me.

Koto and Charlen chugged their way down the line steadily, Koto took a slight lead around the 7th glass. They tossed back each glass with a quick, convulsive swallow then slammed it down and snatched up the next, draining each glass dry.

"I'm going next!" I announced, fire in my blood. I'd been effortlessly out-drinking humans for years, but this is where I'd have some real competition!

Alexine's mouth opened, but the voice that spoke came from behind me.

"Bad move."

I whipped around, getting ready to challenge whoever was doubting my abilities, but I scratched that idea when I saw who it was, because there are some things you just don't say to a Vampire Prince.

"Sire Arrow." I gulped, tilting my head respectfully. Alexine copied the gesture.

"You can lose the respect if you want, the Festival is no time for formalities." the Prince replied with an easy smile.

Easier said than done. I couldn't have lost respect for this man if my life depended on it.

"Thank you Sire. And why exactly would it be a 'bad move'?" I asked carefully, looking up at his deep eyes without looking _into _them.

"Because these aren't the weak human drinks you're used to." he informed me with a sideways grin. "We shoot Vampire whiskey here, we make it ourselves. It's more potent to us than normal drinks are to humans. One glass would knock a human out, and a line of shots could kill someone inexperienced...and, um...small." he added awkwardly.

I wasn't sure how to counter that one, so I nodded politely and grabbed the nearest goblet of ale and took a swig, keeping one eye on Arrow.

As I did so, Alexine stole a shot of Vampire whiskey from the second lineup, attempted to drain it in one gulp, but ended up choking and spilling the remainder all over the nearest person...me. A rowdy choruses of laughs went up around us, my dress was soaked through at the front. I was rattled.

"Seriously?" I snapped.

"Saw-ree!" Alexine squealed, giving me a sloppy hug and then tottering away.

"One sip and she's gone." Arra sneered, coming up beside me. "But I'm sure half of it's in her head."

"I think she's less than half-Vampire." I grumbled. "Quarter-blooded, if that."

"If I hadn't seen the scars I wouldn't think she was a Vampire at all. If drinks more than a pint of Vampire whiskey she gets alcohol poisoning. I've seen it, and it's not pretty." Arra spat.

"I'm going to go change out of this dress.'' I muttered, starting away from the group but Arra nabbed me by the arm.

"Hell no. I'm not gonna be the only person wearing a dress other than her!"

"But it's wet!" I shot back with a hint of a whine. This was embarassing enough, Arrow was still standing within earshot. I just wanted to escape.

"But...you look great." Arrow suddenly noted. Then he drew back although he couldn't believe he said the words.

My heart did something weird that it didn't normally do.

Arra shot him a look.

"What? It's true." the bald Prince huffed defensively, glaring around as if daring anyone to tell him differently. But when a Prince glares, no one disagrees. Arra split off to join a group Vampires playing a fist-boxing game. Alexine was long gone, and I couldn't see any of our other friends. That left me and Arrow.

"I mean it. You look nice." he mumbled in the direction of his feet.

"Thanks." I said draining the last of my ale. I didn't know what else to say. 'You too, Sire!' wouldn't have sounded quite right.

"What do you think of Vampire Mountain?" he asked.

"I think I could be happy here." I admitted. "It reminds me of my hometown." I added with a smile. I didn't think you could compare a Mountain full of bloodsippers to a small western town full of farmers and gunslingers, but I was seeing more similarities by the minute.

"I never had a hometown. If I did, I don't remember it." Arrow said, casually rubbing the back of his neck. He did tend to do that as he talked. "My mentor saved me when I was very small, I was blooded early. When he died, I came here. I was in denial for a while, but I always knew it was my home...deep down."

I drew breath sharply, slightly awestruck that he'd shared something to personal with me. The possibility that someone so powerful took even a fragment of interest in me...made me grateful to be alive.

"Tell me about your hometown." he prodded gently.

"It was called Sierra Valley, in Montana. It had 5 different streets, and 400 residents total. I lived half a mile out, on a cattle ranch. We raised horses too, fast ones. I rode into school every day...at least when I felt like it." I smiled at the thought. "Me and my best friend sometimes skipped on really hot days, and rode down to this old pond and swam the horses to the island in the center..." I trailed off, realizing I'd went off on an irrelevant tangent. He'd asked me about my hometown, not my little human life. And here I was blabbering about my lazy day pastimes. I glanced up, expecting him to look impatient or at least bored. Not engaged and interested.

"And?" he encouraged with a lopsided smile.

"Nothing, really." I blushed. Typical me, starting into an attempt at a story, which went absolutey nowhere. "We just swam on a little sand bar and tanned."

"I've never done either of those things." Arrow replied with a gruff chuckle.

"Really?" I shot out with a laugh. Tanning I could understand, but- "You've never gone swimming?"

"I never learned how." he admitted. "Still have no idea, and I doubt I'll ever try it. I'd hack through an army of Vampaneze before getting in the water."

"Really." I repeated in a gentler tone. "Yeah, I bet you would." I continued with a genuine smile, picturing him standing at the forefront of a mighty Vampire army, cutting a path through the purple enemy. "Storm said...you're a 'killin machine'. And those are his words, not mine." I added quickly.

"Those are everybody's words." he returned with a quick, sharp laugh. "It's who I am."

I picked up my second mug of ale, contemplating how to reply, but he did it for me.

"I hope you don't think any less of me from what you've heard of my reputation."

"No way!" I truly hoped that didn't sound as enthusiastic as it felt. "I mean...I look up to someone who defends his clan so fiercely." Now that sounded like something out of the mouth of an old man. Great.

His eyes met mine. Mine got pretty wide at this point. I can only imagine how stunned I looked, but I held his steely gaze.

Mika Ver Leth just happened to choose that moment to mightily bodycheck his fellow Prince, who more or less crushed me against the table.

Arrow's mass of strength squashing me against a sharper-than-it-looks wooden table made for a bit of a painful situation...for me, anyway.

"Ooooof." I gulped, massaging my ribs as I tottered out of the way.

"Oh gods, Kayden. I'm so sorry!" Arrow gasped, grabbing me by my arm. "Are you hurt?"

"Ribs grow back." I forced a smile and looked up at his concerned expression. "Don't worry."

"Arrrrr, time for V-shots!" Mika growled sloppily, finishing a mug of ale. "I'mma take you down this time!"

"Mika, I beat you at every council and it isn't going to change tonight." Arrow answered calmly. "Even when you're drunk you're stupidly overconfident."

"C'monnnnn." the dark Prince whined, gesturing at a guard who was lining up two rows of shots, wearing a look of anticipation.

"Yeah, c'mon." I chided, feeling braver, as ale coursed mightily through my veins. Suddenly I craved something just a bit stronger. I snatched a shot of Vampire whiskey off the end of the line, earning a glare from the guard who now had to replace it. I tossed the shot back, and immediately knew why it was called Vampire whiskey. I felt like I was a weak little human again. My vision blurred and my legs felt remarkably uncoordinated. It had been a long time since I'd been truly drunk. I felt other bodies surrounding me, no more in tune to their surroundings than I was.

I made my way back up to the table and leaned havily upon it. Mika and Arrow had begun their shot contest, and Arrow had taken an early lead. I heard some girl loudly cheering for him, and almost told her off for being so loud, but then I realized it was me. To hell with it! I kept cheering, louder and louder. Alexine was suddenly beside me, cheering just as raucously for Mika. I noticed her dress was riding lower and lower down her chest, and narrowly missed making a rude comment because I got an accidental punch in the head from Gavner, who had also appeared beside me.

"GAV!" I shrieked stupidly, attacking him while smiling like an idiot. He grabbed my arms gently, effectively restraining me.

"Oh my gods, someone's been into the V-whiskey." I heard him chuckle. "Welcome to Vampire Mountain, Kade."

"Welcome to Kade, Vampire Mountain!" I shot back, punching my fist into the ear, and feeling it make contact with someone's teeth.

"Soooorry, Kurda." I added.

"VICTORY TO ARROW!" someone else bellowed from the sidelines.

The bald Prince slammed down his last shot glass -so hard it shattered, bloodying his hand- and jumped up from the table. Mika was still 3 glasses from the end.

"YAAHH!" I roared primally, running over to congratulate him. To my great suprise, I felt his hands around my waist and suddenly I was up in the air being swung in a suprisingly graceful circle. Somehow I ended up sitting on his shoulder, eye to eye with Alexine who was piggyback on Mika's shoulders.

"Where's you're husband?" I snapped at her, without putting sting into the words. I couldn't have packed a verbal punch right now if my life depended on it.

"Iunno!" she replied quite slopping, clutching Mika's hair for support.

I could see everything from up here - Grayson was standing with a group of men on the other side of the room, looking quite dismal. I wondered if I should yell at him to get his ass over here and take his wife off the Prince's shoulders, but managed to contain myself.

Not far from them were Larten and Arra...Arra was leaning on him quite a bit, and both appeared to be laughing. I hadn't yet seen her look so happy.

Right in front of us were Gavner and Kurda. Gavner was laying into a glass of V-whiskey- "Thaat's my boy!" I hollered- and Kurda was wiping blood out of his mouth.

It wasn't long afterwards that my memory failed me.

* * *

_I don't care, I love it._  
_I don't care._

* * *

rxx


	4. And She Doesn't Give A Damn

EDITED: chapters 7 and 8 combined

Lyrics property of A Rocket To The Moon, _Give A Damn_

* * *

_Well she lives at night and sleeps all day_  
_She'll dance and drink her life away_  
_But she doesn't know who I am_

* * *

I woke up feeling like my head was being bludgeoned by a sledgehammer while swallowing a burning cactus. My stomach felt dead angry, like it was about to completely turn against me, basically I felt like one step above a corpse.

What a night...

Slowly I cracked open my eyes to the view of...the interior of my coffin. At least I'd made it back in one peace... but how I'd managed that was a mystery to me. I was stretched out on my back, tilted to one side since I'd apparently dropped on my disorganized bundle of blankets and pillows. However, my head was resting on the hardwood bottom.

I thought about getting up, but the thought made me nauseous, so I remained in my crash position as I tried to call back the previous night.

Getting ready with Xeen and Arra... the brief ceremony... dodging fighting Vampires... starting to drink... Oh gods, there it is... talking to Arrow about some stupid thing... cheering him on in the shot contest... _OH MY GODS. _When was I up on his shoulders? That MUST be a dream.

Maybe I was lucky. Maybe the night was one big dream.

I raised my head and slowly glanced around, then my vision spun and instantly bolted to the water closet where I miserably emptied my guts into the gaping hole in the floor.

_Oh my gods oh my gods oh my gods... _

I hadn't been hungover since I was human. I'd forgotten how agonizing nausea felt as it overtook my body and held me prisoner as I gagged pitifully over the primitive toilet.

I lost track of time eventually, but I spent a good 15 minutes at least alternating between hurling, and leaning against the cold stone wall, just trying to breathe.

The nausea subsided, but the ferocious headache raged all the harder. I ignored it (not an easy task). There were also bruises scattered here and there, ones I was fairly sure hadn't been there yesterday. I finally dragged my sorry ass up off the ground to see if my cell had been completely trashed.

The first thing I realized was that this wasn't my cell (but yes, it was trashed). The second thing I noticed was that I wasn't alone. There were a few random strangers lying around, some had blankets, some had pillows, some had both, and a few were just lying on the cold floor. One looked really familliar...

Arra was lying face-down on a bearskin rug, partially wrapped in a wool blanket. I spied her dress lying on the other side of the room. But that wasn't the funniest part. I was on the way back to lie down in whoever's coffin it was, when I tripped over something that felt alive.

"Ouff!" it huffed.

"What the...Larten?" I gasped, staring down at the orange-haired man. I hadn't noticed him before, since he was under the same blanket that covered Arra.

"What happened?" he asked in alarm, sitting up suddenly and getting the same result I had.

"Put some pants on." I pleaded, slapping my hands over my eyes as he lurched to the water closet to vomit even more loudly and violently than I had before.

I picked up Arra's dress and dropped it within arm's reach of her, to spare the poor girl the shame of having to walk over to fetch it when she woke up. The look on her face when she saw Larten later would be priceless enough.

Me, on the other hand had managed to retain my dress. I had that much dignity, anyway. Although sleeping in a dress was not something I planned on ever doing again.

I decided against getting back in the coffin now that I knew it wasn't mine, so I made the long trek back to my own room. All across the mountain, everything looked like the room I'd woke up in. Hungover Vampires were staggering around, travelling between water closets, others simply sat with a bucket (they looked like the experienced ones). Some weren't hungover (shockingly) and were mercilessly teasing those who were. Some were still sleeping, and some were still drunk.

But no one looked like they hadn't had a great night.

Now, if I could just remember mine. That would be fantastic.

But I shouldn't have worried, because when I turned down the last corridoor on the way to my room, the first thing I heard was,

"THERE SHE IS!"

Oh please no. It's WAY too early for Alexine antics... gods, could you at least get rid of the headache? I can't deal with that and her at the same time.

"Rough night, I'm goin to lie down." I rumbled, sounding sicker than I actually felt as I barged past her into my cell...which just happened to be directly across the hall from hers. She had shed her gold gown in favour of a flimsy, lacey tank top, matching pants, and sheepskin boots. Her hair was a dissheveled mess, but still looked fantastic. Lucky bitch. I was fairly sure mine looked like a rat had slept in it.

"I BET you feel awful." she smirked in her revolting way. "Last night was...let's just call it unforgettable."

My curiosity won.

"Actually, I don't remember a thing after the shot contest. What the hell happened?"

"Oh my gods." she chortled. "You were unstoppable. I had no idea you knew how to dance!"

"Really, Xeen. That's funny because I don't have a rhythmical bone in my body. I couldn't dance to save my life." I replied apprehensively, hoping that was the worst of it.

"Oh, you were dancing up a storm. And you did a keg stand in a barrel of ale, you punched Kurda 3 different times before he went to bed, you kept yelling at Larten and Arra to get a room, you fought some general and got your ass kicked..."

That explained the bruises. Actually, I was amazed I could move. Punching Kurda, I could have just as easily done that sober. Teasing Larten and Arra, not too bad. Keg stand, nothing I'd never done before.

"...then Arrow carried you to bed."

There it was.

"Ah." I stated.

"Ah is right. What happened after that?" she pryed.

"Nothing!" I spat vehmently. Maybe a bit too much so.

"I thought you couldn't remember _anything_." she shot back slickly.

"Where is your mind?" I groaned. "He's a Prince, and I haven't even been here two days."

"Exactly."

"It wasn't even my coffin! I woke up in someone else's cell with people lying all over the floor." (I left out the Larten 'n' Arra detail. She'd find out about that soon enough.) "And screw me, what were YOU doing last night? I woke up with my dress on. Did you?"

Xeen rolled her huge green eyes.

"Of _course_ not, Kadey. I changed out of it all by myself before I went to bed. I'm classy, y'know."

If that was true, I'd eat my sword.

"Ha. Ha. No really, what did you do?"

"The usual."

Well, enough of this conversation for me.

"Great, well I'm going back to bed. Good luck finding your dress. It couldn't have gotten too far, I'm sure it's still in this mountain somewhere. "

"Thanks Kade." she mumbled with a tinge of embarrassment.

She continued on her way down the hall and I dropped in my coffin. It was actually MY coffin this time, but I did double check to make sure there were no random Vampires sleeping on the floor.

Call me un-classy, but couldn't be bothered to take off my dress before blacking out with my face in a pillow.

###

The cool, soothing darkness of his coffin was ripped away and his senses were suddenly assaulted by a shrill creak and a downpour of light.

"Riiiise and shiiiine!" chortled a familliar voice hovering above Arrow's head. The tattooed Prince ignored it and desperately attempted to wish himself back to sleep. His whole body hurt and his insides felt like they'd been ripped out then put back in the wrong order. And the headache was like nothing he'd ever felt. He knew without a doubt that if he opened his eyes, things would get ugly. So he blocked out Mika's voice and concentrated on his cool, dark space.

Unfortunately, Mika was ever the persistent one.

"Get up." he demanded. Then he kicked the side of the coffin; the echo made Arrow's head spin dangerously. But it brought no outward reaction so he shook his comrade roughly by the shoulder, which sent a fierce wave of nausea coursing through Arrow's body, which was luckily restrained.

"If you...don't get out...right now...I'll rip your face...off." Arrow informed him tensely while keeping his eyes shut and moving his lips as little as possible.

Mika's face cracked into a huge grin.

"_There_ he is! I lost track of you, how was the rest of your night?"

"Mika...too early...think I'm dead...go away."

"You were pretty alive last night."

"Get out."

"Did I mention you demolished 30 shots of V-whiskey and set a new time record for the entire history of the Festival of the Undead?"

The mere thought of alcohol, and his stomach turned over so vivaciously that Arrow knocked Mika over in his haste to get to the water closet. Once his stomach had been sufficiently emptied, he leaned heavily against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor. His hands pressed tightly against his face did nothing to alleviate the headache that had been intensified by the sudden burst of action. He couldn't recall feeling so decrepit in his entire life.

"If you ever tell anyone about this..." he made a weak threatening motion at Mika.

Mika cautiously sat down beside him, unsucessfully trying to cover a smile.

"Wouldn't dream of it! Bet you'll think twice next time you want to impress a lady."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Arrow croaked indignantly.

"Ugh, wipe your face." Mika snorted, passing his friend a small towel. "I mean how you normally laugh yourself stupid at Vampires who do V-whiskey races, but last night...well, like I mentioned, you set a record for it and gave yourself alcohol poisoning in the process."

"Stop talking." Arrow grunted, closing his eyes again.

"It worked." Mika pressed. "Kayden didn't take her eyes off you the whole time."

"I don't _care_." Arrow groaned miserably. The name meant nothing to him, at least not today. He was being completely sincere, all he cared about was recovering. "I just wanna go back to bed."

"I can bring her up for a visit if you want." the dark Prince quipped. "Make you feel better?"

"Mika, if you send ANYONE up here, I don't care who it is, I'll drop you on the stakes till you're beyond dead. Now get the hell outta my way, I need to sleep."

"Can you even walk?" Mika inquired skeptically.

"Let's find out."

Arrow rose shakily, and promptly fell back in front of the water closet for another round of vomiting. When the nausea had run its course he was left shivering and gasping on the cold stone floor.

Mika observed his friend, slightly sympathetic but mostly amused. Finally he extended a helping hand.

Arrow glared up at it for a moment, then smiled begrudgingly as his best friend somewhat-gently hauled him to his feet and they began the long trek across the room where he more or less crawled back into his coffin. He was asleep before his head touched the pillow.

"Drunken idiot." Mika smirked, picking up a stray blanket and dropping it on his comrade in a roughly paternal manner before exiting the room with a mischevious smirk on his face.

###

My walk of shame down to the Hall of Khledon Lurt wasn't as bad as it could have been. I was accompanied by Arra, who tiptoed back to her cell (diagonally across the hall from mine) at the same time I was leaving after an hour of sleeping. I waited outside her door as she quickly swapped her dress for a simple everyday outfit, then we slowly wandered down to the Hall, maintaining an unspoken "Don't Ask, Don't Tell' agreement.

The first thing we noticed upon stepping into the Hall was Alexine surrounded by a horde of male "friends" who were listening to her with rapt attention as she recounted every detail of the previous night. An occasional catcall went up from the area. I didn't want to know.

Arra and I quietly snuck to a table that was obscured by a trio of very fat Vampires in the corner. We ate quickly, she was obviously eager to get out as soon as possible, and I felt the same. I may not have lost my dress, but I'd still made a complete drunken whore of myself last night.

Oh but things would only get better.

First, Gavner, Larten, and Kurda sauntered into the Hall approximately 10 minutes after we did, immediately spotted us, called our names and hurried over, all the while waving extravagantly. Naturally, Alexine left her table to follow them over.

I could have sworn Arra hissed "Noo..." under her breath as Larten flopped down right beside her, and Alexine took her other side.

"How are you guys feeling?" I inquired as they took their seats.

"Less than spectacular." said Kurda.

"I've been worse." Larten sighed tiredly.

"I threw up for an hour, now I feel great." Gavner added happily.

"Same here, only without the 'great' part." I replied.

"I don't think we've had a party THAT good since Mika got invested." Gavner declared.

"It was... fantastic." Larten commented with a sidelong glance at Arra. She pressed her lips together in a thin line.

"You were all imbecillic. It was completely hilarious." Kurda smirked. Oh gods. One side of his face was brilliantly bruised, in the shape of a small set of knuckles. He saw me staring.

"Thanks for this, Kayden." he added with a good-natured roll of his eyes.

"Sorry." I sighed. "But you were probably asking for it."

"Yeah, he was." Arra spoke abruptly, causing Larten to straighten up at the sound of her voice.

"Oh?" I tilted my head curiously.

"He kept saying people who like to fight are morons."

"I should punch you a couple more times." I growled.

"Save it for tonight. You have awful aim when you've been drinking." Kurda replied lightly.

"Not according to your face." I shot back.

"That's because I held him down while you punched." A new voice joined us.

I looked upwards. Mika Ver Leth was standing over our table, looking tired and albeit hungover, but otherwise in good humour.

"How are we all feeling today?" he asked with a tight smile.

"Excellent." said Larten.

"Fine." said Arra.

"Awful." I admitted.

Gavner made a finger-slice-across-throat motion, then cracked a mischevious smile.

"And how are _you_, Sire?" Alexine asked with a sneaky bat of her eyelashes.

"Been worse, been better." Mika replied unconcernedly, barely sparing her a glance. "Damn, Arra. You look like you haven't slept in a month." His eyes lingered on the black-haired Vampiress who steadily held his gaze.

"You don't look so terrific yourself, Sire." she replied politely.

Mika cracked out a genuine laugh, not taking his eyes off Arra. I felt something pass between them... what it was, I didn't know for sure. But I planned on keeping an eye on it.

"Fantastic party last night, hmmm?" the blonde continued ambitiously.

"Yeah." Mika responded boredly, then his dark gaze flashed over to me. "Kayden, someone wants to see you."

"Who?" I groaned. I'd just gotten comfortable, getting up off my butt was not something I was interested in.

"No one important." Mika shrugged. "Just follow me."

Alexine coughed. It sounded oddly like "booty call".

I rolled my eyes and creakily got up to follow Mika, up a set of rough-hewn stairs, down a chilly hallway, more stairs, winding higher up into the Mountain.

"With all due respect Sire, where the hell are we?" I muttered venemously. I felt a little bold talking to a Prince in such a manner, but A) we were still within the Festival time limit, and B) he was certainly being extremely friendly.

"The chambers directly above the Hall of Princes."

"But...I'm not...I don't have authorization..."

Mika banged his fist against the nearest door to us, then swung it open with a yell of "Brought you some company!" and gently pushed me inside.

"I swear, Sire..." I growled under my breath, cursing him as I realized whose cell I must standing in - it wasn't Mika's. My theory was confirmed as the lid rose off the large coffin in front of me, and its occupant peered out, with furious (and bloodshot) eyes locked on Mika.

"You bastard, Ver Leth, I told you not to...who the hell did you bring?"

Then his stare switched over to _me, _and his face went slack.

I bowed awkwardly, not making eye contact.

"Good morning, Sire Arrow..."

"Umm, Kayden." Arrow greeted me with a semblance of politeness - at least as polite as one could be while trying not to vomit. I could tell his day hadn't been much better than mine so far.

"Hi."

"You'll have to forgive me...wasn't expecting company." he continued croakily, shooting a murderous glare at Mika.

"C'mon, Arr." Mika wheedled in a joking tone. "Everyone needs a sick-buddy."

"Except for _me._" Arrow growled.

"Sorry, Sire..." I stammered like a stupid little girl. "...I wasn't planning to come up here, Mik- I mean Sire Ver Leth -"

"Is an idiot." Arrow mumbled, closing his eyes and lying back down.

"You were perfectly friendly last night!" Mika replied indignantly. "The only difference now is you're not drunk and you both have headaches."

"Um." I replied intelligently.

Mika cracked a wicked grin and slipped out the door. Leaving me alone with a very angry and very hungover Vampire Prince.

Silence hung in the air for a few seconds before belatedly I realized I was probably the last person on earth he wanted in his room, particularly right now.

"I guess I'll just get going. Sorry I let him drag me up here...um feel better soon, Sire." I forced out with as much cheerfulness I could muster, before reaching for the door handle.

"Wait...wait a moment, Kayden." he called slightly awkwardly.

"Yeah? I mean, yes?"

"There's a pitcher of water in here...um...somewhere. Find it?"

If it was anyone else, in any other situation, I would have said "Say please."

His voice was soft, almost weak. Sympathy chewed at my heartstrings, and I set off to search for the pitcher. He didn't say anything else after that. I wondered if he'd gone back to sleep. Or more likely, passed out.

As awkward as it was, I couldn't suppress my curiosity as I scanned his quarters. The room was more than twice the size of mine, definitley an Vampiric executive suite. It featured a massive dark brown bearskin rug as a centerpiece, and a few smaller animal skins as well as a spectacular array of weapons - swords, shields, knives, boomerangs and every other deadly pointy thing hanging decoratively on the walls. His coffin sat across from the door, next to it was a large wooden crate that seemed to be used for clothing storage. A large oak desk was located on the other side of the room. Since Vampires don't write anything down, there's not much use for a desk, so this one seemed to serve as a table. On it was a well-worn dagger, a boomerang which looked to be in the process of repair, as a blade was detached from the wood. There was a small, dusty, metal box sitting beside that, then a pitcher of water- Yes! Found it! I grabbed it, and narrowly missed knocking over a framed photograph. I leaned in to see what was in it... a was a worn-out grainy black and white shot of a beautiful young woman standing knee-deep in water on what seemed to be a sandy beach. She was holding up the long skirts of her white gown - a wedding gown. She was laughing into the camera, her bright eyes pierced my soul. I had no doubt in my mind about who she must be.

I heard Storm's words again.

_He was off livin' with the humans a while back, had a wife and everything. 'Til the Vampaneze got her. It was a nasty affair, I heard._

I felt sick. My eyes went from the photo, to the Vampire Prince lying in the coffin, to the weapons hanging on the wall...

_He came back to us all messed in the head, and he's been a cold-blooded killin' machine ever since then._

Cold blooded killin' machine. For some reason, it only just clicked.

I knew about his reputation and his backstory, everyone did. At least, they knew the standard legendary version - his loss, and then his bloodstained rise to glory, the sheer quantities of Vampaneze he'd decimated. What he was capable of.

Looking at this picture, I felt like there was an entire dimension that everyone had forgotten. The part that came _before_ the bodies started piling up. The reason he'd walked away from this mountain in the first place. Those eyes, that white dress.

My heart broke for him.

"I...I found the pitcher."

I slowly walked back over to him, both hands cupped around the cold clay jug.

"Thanks." he murmured. I handed it to him - our fingers brushed. His skin felt cold and clammy, and as he lifted the pitcher to his mouth I could see his hands were shaking.

_God damn. _I thought. He wasn't just hungover, he was fucking alcohol poisoned.

"Have you taken anything to...um...help?" I inquired.

He shook his head and continued gulping water.

"You should ask that Seba guy, he probably knows some good cures." I offered.

"It's just a hangover. I'll be fine in a few -"

That was interrupted by becoming violently sick into the pitcher. I fought down the urge to do the same.

"You drank too much water, too fast." I scolded as soon as he caught his breath.

"I was thirsty." he muttered, rubbing his hand over his face.

"Want me to get Seba?" I asked, at the risk of sounding pushy,

"I'm hungover like everyone else in this mountain! It'll go away." he replied indignantly.

"You're not just hungover. You're sick!" I protested.

Then a convenient little memory flashed back to me from the previous night - Arrow ripping through a line of shot glasses, chugging back every drop of V-Whiskey and slamming down the final glass on the table, smashing it into pieces -

"Your hand's still bloody!" I gasped suddenly, looking at it for the first time.

He glanced at it, and cringed. I suspected he too must be remembering last night's shot contest.

"Ouch." he noted, turning his hand over and investigating the deep red cut.

"You should heal that before it gets worse." I suggested apprehevsively.

"Doesn't hurt." he shot back quickly, contradicting his pervious statement.

"What if it gets infected?" I countered.

"Then it gets infected."

"Are you a Vampire or not? Just rub some spit on it!" I exasperated.

"I just threw up! I'm not licking my hand!" he snorted.

I blinked. That caught me by suprise. The 'cold blooded killin' machine' was..._squeamish_?

I managed not to giggle - it was extremely difficult.

"Well... I can heal it for you." I told him patiently.

"I'm a big Vampire, Kayden. Don't worry about me. I'm serious. Isn't there something else you should be doing? I'm _fine_." he replied, almost in a whining tone.

"If you let me heal it, I'll leave you alone. Sire." I offered respectfully.

I remembered the time Storm broke his wrist while we were on a journey, and I spent three whole days laughing at him doing everything with one hand before I finally insisted he find a doctor to fix him up. That's the thing about Vampire men... you practically have to put a knife to their throats to get them to admit they need help. Arrow was no different.

He looked down at his hand, then back up at me, contemplating my suggestion. I arched my eyebrows skeptically, but inside I was getting frustrated with myself - what the hell did I think I was doing? He's a Prince, for Charna's sake!

_Which is exactly why he has to be taken care of, Kade. _My conscience wheedled.

"Alright." he sighed defeatedly, extending his hand.

I took his hand firmly in my left hand, then licked my right fingers and carefully rubbed the saliva around the edges of the cut - it was even nastier up close, nearly sliced down to the bone. Even by tough Vampire standards, it was a bad one.

To my suprise, he flinched mightily as the spit began to do its work, breathing heavily through gritted teeth.

"You alright?" I inquired in alarm.

"Stings." he replied gruffly, making a concerted effort to appear more comfortable than he was.

"Almost done." I smiled as the cut slowly closed and the skin became as smooth as if it had never been touched. Once I'd wiped the dried blood off, he was as good as new - except for the hangover.

"Feel better? Or should I go get Seba?" I asked, only half-joking.

"You keep Seba and his crazy remedies away from me!" he shot back with suprising sharpness. I seemed to have touched a nerve.

"Crazy remedies? Sounds like you have some experience."

He cringed slightly.

"You could say that. Seba is an excellent caretaker, but some of his methods are..._very _traditional."

I was dying to know more, but I decided Arrow wasn't the one to ask. He looked like he was ready to pass out again.

"I guess I'll get going." I said, getting up from the bear rug I'd been sitting on. "Rest up, drink lots, and um... if I was you, I wouldn't go out tonight."

He cracked a wide smile.

"You're funny, Kayden. Tell me another joke."

I rolled my eyes as much as I could without looking belligerent. There would be no way of keeping the Prince away from the Festival of the Undead - so he might just end up learning the hard way.

"Do whatever you want, Sire. Luck to you." I concluded, opening the door to excuse myself.

"Kayden?" he called after me.

"Thanks...for...uhm, this."

As simple as it was, I could tell it had been extremely difficult for him to say those words. I looked back at the picture on his desk - the woman in the wedding gown. Maybe I _did_ know why I'd felt the need to stay with him... after all, she wasn't around to take care of him. Someone had to.

"Anytime." I forced a smile. "And Sire...I heard you..." I cleared my throat. "...took me up to bed last night after I passed out. Thank you."

"I remember that." he smirked. "You were _done_. I found you passed out on the floor with your face on a chair. Did I put you in the right cell?"

"Not even close." I chuckled.

"Oh. Well, at least you didn't get stepped on, or anything."

"Right."

I turned to leave...

"One more thing, Kade."

"Mmhm?"

"Nothing happened last night. Swear to the gods."

I rolled my eyes - I could, because my back was facing him.

"Have a good day, Sire."

* * *

_She doesn't kiss under rain clouds_  
_Only boys in the same crowd_  
_Guess I'm outta luck now_

* * *

rxx


	5. I Say Who She?

EDITED: chapters 9 and 10 combined

Lyrics property of Ke$ha, _Crazy Kids_

* * *

_Hello, wherever you are_  
_Are you dancing on the dance floor or drinking by the bar_  
_Tonight we do it big, and shine like stars_  
_And we don't give a fuck 'cause that's just who we are_

* * *

The moment I closed Arrow's cell door, I made a decision: I was going to lay low for the rest of the Festival. The last thing I wanted to do was develop a reputation - one Alexine in this mountain was more than enough. Aside from last night, I was a blank slate. No one knew me. And only a few remembered exactly what happened the previous night. Not like anything _happened at all! _Actually, compared to Arra and Alexine, I'd been the tame one.

Then again, they were well-established here. Not to mention, the whole reason I was in this place was to celebrate the Festival of the Undead. Getting abandoned was just a side feature.

Yeah. Come for the party, stay for the lack of other options. Thanks, Storm.

I could stay mad at him for as long as necessary, but I realized couldn't stay mad in general. It was hard not to start getting attached to Vampire Mountain. The people were...something. That was for sure.

"How was the royal booty call?" Alexine sniggered as she fell into step beside me. I'd just passed the Hall of Khledon Lurt and apparently I'd been spotted.

"Screw off." I snapped, punching her in the upper arm - only half-joking.

"Reowwr. So how was it?"

"_It _was just Mika playing a joke on Arrow, who was too hungover to even get out of his coffin."

"You did _what_ in his coffin?" Arra's voice chimed in, as she stepped up on my other side.

"Where do you people _come_ from?" I groaned. "And nothing happened! He was sick so I sat with him for a bit. Are you happy now?!"

Alexine looked like she was preparing some witty retort, but the Grayson stepped out of a cell nearby, looking hopeful as he spotted his wife.

"Graaaay!" she trilled, trotting up to him. "How are you feeeling?"

Arra and I exchanged a glance, and continued on our way as fast as possible while Alexine was distracted.

"You were being honest, right?" the dark-haired warrior asked me in a hushed tone once we were out of earshot. "Because...y'know, you could always tell me..."

I could see how much it pained her to be so friendly - she was obviously _beyond_ curious.

_"Trust me_, Arra. I'm not hiding anything." I promised. I wouldn't say I _liked_ Arra, but I certainly respected her more than Alexine. I could trust her.

"I believe you." she replied acceptingly.

"Well, thanks." I supposed that counted for something. I took a breath. "So...you and Larten..."

Her face assumed a pained expression.

"It's not...we're just...I mean...we..."

"I get it." I shrugged.

"I'm not sure you do." Arra replied haughtily. "But one thing is certain, it won't happen again."

"Right." I responded flatly.

"You don't believe me?" she retorted sharply, eyes flashing dangerously. And I thought _my_ temper was bad.

"Arra, I don't even _know_ you." I snapped back with equal bite. "I can't make that call, but I have to ask; do you believe _yourself_?"

She had no comeback, so when we reached our respective chambers, we parted ways in silence.

###

I managed to follow through with my 'laying low' plan for the rest of the day - despite Gavner, Kurda, and Larten's pleading to attend the second night of the festival. Arra came back upstairs after an hour of partying, stuck her head into my cell to briefly report that I wasn't missing anything at all, then went to bed.

I gave myself a manicure using a dagger blade, then settled into my own coffin for a much better sleep than yesterday's. At least until I was awoken by the sound of Alexine vomiting furiously - right outside my door. She hadn't quite been able to make the three more steps that would have gotten her into her own cell.

Call me an awful person, but I ignored it and went back to sleep

###

On the final night of festivities, I put on my cleanest shirt, brushed my hair, vowed not to touch a drop of alcohol, and ventured down to the Hall of Stahrvos Glen.

I thought I'd get bored without drinking, but to my suprise I had an even better time than the first night - probably because everything was crystal clear and I knew I had an easy morning ahead of me. This was definitley wilder than the first night, everyone knew it was their last shot at the Festival for another 12 years so they were partying as if it was their last day on earth.

I started out cruising through the Hall of Games, where I was immediately reminded that no one could refuse a challenge during th Festival of the Undead, so I got the opportunity to pit my 5'4 frame against a 6'6 foot General in a wrestling match. He would have crushed me in one second - had he not been positively wrecked out of his mind. But even with a sober advantage, he still almost broke my leg - I managed to roll out of the way, step on his throat and quickly declare victory before scampering away.

I went on a hunt for Arra, I was itching to fight her again and prove that my prior win hadn't been a fluke. Maybe I couldn't beat her every time, but I wanted her to know that I was her competition and she'd do well to get used to it. But according to a very inebriated Alexine, Arra hadn't yet gotten over her embarrassment over the first night and hadn't left her cell.

Really, I didn't see why she was making such a fuss. She could have picked a worse man than Crepsley - there was still Kurda. And at least the ratio of men to women had not exceeded 1 - 1. Yes, Alexine. I'm looking at you.

I thought about being a good friend and convincing Arra to come join the fun, but I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't exactly call her a friend. More of an acquaintance, a very stubborn acquaintance who'd probably punch me out if I knocked on her door. She must have had a decent reason to be holed up in her cell, so I decided to respect her space.

Finally, I stumbled upon Gavner, Kurda, and Larten. The gang was casually observing a tournament taking place on the bars.

"Arra could turn him inside out without trying." I heard Larten mumble, regarding one of the contestants who seemed rather unbalanced.

"Kade! Welcome back." Gavner greeted me. "We missed you last night."

"Fill me in." I demanded eagerly, stepping up beside him and leaning comfortably against the wall.

"Please don't." Kurda requested grimly.

This had to be good.

"Tell me right now!"

"He started a riot." Larten chipped in with a smirk.

"I didn't _start_ anything! I wasn't the one who started throwing sharp objects!" Kurda whined.

"So, there'd just been a Free-For-All tournament, right in this hall. It's a tradition It's when you have at least two teams of six, all the weapons you want, and your imagination. No rules, except you have to keep it contained in one hall, and you can't use spectators as shields. That's a new rule, actually." Gavner explained.

(Gods, I love Vampire Mountain.)

"Anyway, we didn't have any deaths, but someone got whipped pretty bad. He's gonna live, but It took Seba all night to patch him up, and he'll still be walking funny for the rest of his life. And that's where Kurda came in. While we were waiting to hear whether or not he was gonna die, Smahlt steps up to the front of the room-"

Kurda groaned pathetically. Gavner plowed onwards.

"- and makes this 10-minute speech about how awful and violent we are, and how we should be ashamed of ourselves because our idea of entertainment might cost a comrade his life, and blah blah blah-"

"I was making some _very_ valid points!" Kurda hissed. "You were all completely unreasonable!"

"-until some general threw an axe at his face. Then all hell broke lose and Kurda got chased all the way down to the Hall of Perta Vin-Grahl with a horde of 70 Vampires after him." Gavner concluded.

It took me almost five minutes to stop laughing. Gods, I could just picture it.

"Kayden, it is _not that_ funny." Kurda reprimanded shrilly.

"I'm really sorry Kurda, but... It is _that_ funny." I gulped, wiping my eyes and finally regaining my composure. Then once more, I pictured 70 Vampires chasing him with assault weapons and broke down again.

"Kayden?" Larten inquired, probably trying to distract me from the mental image that was rendering me useless.

"Okay, I'm done... yeah?" I sighed.

"Have you seen Arra tonight?"

As casual as he tried to look, he sounded _very_ hopeful.

"I haven't seen her. 'Zeen said she's staying in tonight - I think she's had enough fun for one decade." I informed him, eager to gauge his reaction.

"Oh - alright. I was just wondering." He went back to observing the fight and slowly sipping ale.

Damn, he'd managed to pull out his poker face, just in time.

###

The rest of the night was uneventful. Larten turned in early, apparently having lost interest in the goings-on. Kurda went not long after, leaving me and Gavner to saunter around and laugh at the numerous old men sitting in huddles, babbling drunkenly about legendary wars and heroic tales. Many younger ones did the same, only their conversations were not in past tense. We'd eavesdrop for a few moments before laughing and moving on. We finished off the night by deciphering the sloppy ramblings of a very old General and helping him get back to his cell in one piece. Once he was tucked in and snoring like thunder, Gavner and I began the long trek back across the mountain.

"They're announcing the raid team tomorrow." Gavner noted abruptly as we descended a rough-hewn staircase.

It took me a second, but my memory served me well.

_We've heard definite news the Vampaneze have a temporary fort in a small town 500 miles south of the Mountain. We're going to take some prisoners and find out what they've been up to. _Arrow had said.

_I know this group has only begun duelling recently, but Vanez took me on a raid a month ago, and I have been practice-fighting for over 3 months. I thought I should inform you so you don't assume I'm on the same level as the others. _Had been Arra's words.

"Who's going for sure?" I asked with interest.

"Mika and Arrow will be leading, that's a given. They're the ultimate tag team when it comes to Vampaneze." Gavner replied with a smile. "They'll take a couple of generals, but it'll mostly be normal soldiers. And some apprentices. Not sure how many, but they're hinting that they'll take at least one of us this time."

"Is this a big mission?" I inquired. Gavner shrugged in response.

"I'd say about average. Two princes are going, so that means it's no small thing. But they tend to take a lot more generals if it looks like it's going to be a big fight. And if it was going to be a smiple in-and-out, they'd bring all the apprentices and call it a training challenge. So I'm guessing this will probably be pretty typical." Gavner figured. "Except for the apprentices who get chosen. They'll have bragging rights over us for the rest of our lives, lucky bastards." he added in an undertone.

"You don't think you'll get picked?" I said incredulously.

"Umm... I know I have a better chance than Kurda. But next to Larten and Arra, I doubt I stand a chance."

"I can understand Arra, she's pretty lethal. But what does Larten have that you don't?" I shot back.

"Brains." Gavner chuckled. "He's one of the best strategists we've seen in a while, and he's not even qualified. He can defend himself if he has to, but the generals always say we need more strategists."

"Makes sense I guess." I shrugged. "But when the entire Vampaneze army comes down on your ass, who is strategy gonna help? Plus, isn't Kurda supposed to be the brain around here?"

"Not when it comes to battle, or anything even remotely related to violence." Gavner snorted. "If anything, he's a politician. He could talk black into white, but he doesn't stand a chance on the battlefield."

"Hmm." I responded not-so-eloquently, deep in thought. This raid sounded like it would be right up my alley, a perfect chance to prove myself. This could be incredible. But I stopped myself, I'd only been here four days, and the Festival had put everything on hold. Aside from my quick spar with Arra, I hadn't been assessed in any way. All anyone knew was that I can't hold my liquor.

"I know what you're thinking. Don't worry, there'll be others. Plenty of others. Arrow's not happy unless he's planning a raid, on a raid, or washing blood from his hands after a raid." said Gavner with a dark chuckle.

"Storm told me he was a born killer." I admitted lightly.

"He's scary when he fights." Gavner agreed quietly.

"You've seen it?" I asked, sounding more interested than I meant to.

"Yeah." Gavner replied. "Once, there was a battle at the base of the mountain, maybe 6 years ago. I was only a half-blood so I wasn't involved, I didn't even know how to hold a sword. But I had to go down and drag my mentor to safety - the fool went and got his foot cut off."

"Probably related to Storm." I grunted.

"Anyway, I was dragging him, and I was almost at the hidden entrance when I realized I was being chased by a Vampaneze, gods he must have been seven feet tall. I almost shit myself because I'd single-handedly lead a Vampaneze straight to our door. I whipped out my 5-inch dagger, and he ran at me with a battle axe."

"You're smooth." I chided.

"I know." Gavner grimaced. "I thought I was done for sure, then Arrow just leaps out of nowhere and completely _disembowls _this Vampaneze. I mean, he literally destroyed it. Never even saw it coming. Once the Vampaneze is down, Arrow flips his face over and stares at it. I guess it wasn't the one he was looking for, so he drove he sword into its neck and walked away without even looking at me."

I cringed, but I can't say I didn't feel a bit of sick admiration. I thought back to the weak, hungover Vampire I'd sat beside the previous morning, I almost couldn't imagine him ripping another warrior apart. Then I remembered the photo of the woman, those eyes, that wedding gown...

"Did you know anything about his wife?" I asked Gavner. I must have sounded pretty abrupt, because he gave me a funny look.

"I was just wondering." I added casually. He smiled. Again.

"I don't even know her name." Gavner admitted. "I don't know a single thing about her. I think he only ever talked about it with Mika and Paris."

"He's closest to them." I murmured thoughtfully, remembering Paris' fatherly smile and the easygoing way Mika and Arrow teased each other.

"They're practically family. Mika and Arrow were both blooded young. Paris mentored the both of them at the same time- another example of some really lucky bastards. I'd kill to study under Paris Skyle."

"Did you know them back then?" I inquired, enjoying the history lesson.

"No. We're close in age, but Mika and Arrow had such a head start over the rest of us, so they outranked us pretty quick. I came to live here while Arrow was married, so I didn't meet him for a few more years. I trained with Mika sometimes, but Larten, Kurda, and Arra have always been my closest friends. I heard a lot about Arrow, but when he finally came back he was different from the man described to me. For months, all anyone talked about was how much he'd change. I felt bad for the guy, but I was actually kinda scared of him." Gavner admitted with a sheepish smile.

"Fair enough." I shrugged.

"Seriously, if looks could kill, an entire generation would have been decimated. His eyes...I don't even know how to describe it. Let's just say I was scared."

"I can see that." I agreed, remembering his heavy gaze.

"He's eased up in the past few years, I think. I mean, I guess you can't forget something like that, but..."

"I get it." I interjected. "Do you know exactly what happened to her?"

"She was slaughtered by Vampaneze." Gavner shook his head sadly. "That's the extent of my knowledge. Why the interest?"

_Yeah, Kade. Why the interest?_ My conscience bitched.

"Just curious." I replied breezily.

"He's an interesting guy." Gavner replied with an awkward grin. "You'll find a lot of that around here."

"Oh believe me, I already have." I smirked. By now, we'd reached my cell door. "Sweet dreams, Gav. See you tomorrow!"

"'Night, Kade." he flashed a wide, white smile -I don't know how he manages to look that chipper _all the time_- and gently shut the door behind me.

I changed into my sleepwear, washed my face, and pulled my hair into a messy ponytail before snuggling down into my coffin and pulling a blanket over my head - after all, the sooner I got to sleep, the sooner I'd find out which "lucky bastard" was going to accompany the Princes on this raid.

But I couldn't get Gavner's story out of my head... all I could see was those eyes -Arrow's, that is. I remembered two nights ago, my drunken debacle. I honestly didn't know where I'd gotten the balls to get as close to him as I did, and I don't know what I thought I wanted, but I did know I wasn't stupid enough to get involved.

###

The next day came early. Too early - but at least I wasn't hungover. I sucked it up and crawled out of my coffin, pausing only to rake a brush (borrowed from Alexine) through my hair and pull on some clothes.

Arra had just left her cell right before I did, I could see her back retreating down the hall. She was wearing a big leather backpack, carrying a shield, and had a huge sword strapped to her waist. Apparently she was fairly certain she'd been picked. I'd pay big money to see her facial expression if she hadn't been chosen...

"Gooood morning, Kaydee!"

_Oh gods, no_.

I turned around.

"Hows it goin', Zeen?"

"Umm, well, it's early." the blonde half-Vampiress replied, fluffing her hair.

"So why are you up?" I smirked.

"Same as you, silly. Going to see who's getting picked for the raid! Plus what kind of wife would I be if I wasn't there to see Gray off?"

"Right, for some reason I keep forgetting you're married." I grumbled, desperately fighting the urge to say something way ruder. Someday...

She didn't seem to get my sarcasm, and we continued on down to the Hall of Princes as she talked my ear off, regarding the 'absolutely fabulous' night she'd just had.

The Hall was mostly full, save for a few that were too hungover to leave their rooms. Arrow stood at the front of the Hall, with Mika a few feet behind him. Paris (looking the slightest bit hungover) sat in his throne. A collection of Generals stood at the base of the throne platform -Vanez and Grayson were among them, but they were the only ones I recognized.

Alexine sauntered audaciously up to her husband and rubbed her lips all over his face for a few minutes. Ick. Funny how much interest she shows him when he's standing at the front of a crowded room with all eyes facing him...

I spied Gavner, Larten, Kurda, and Arra standing by the front left corner, and made a beeline for them

"Just in time." said Gavner enthusiastically. Larten nodded in greeting. Kurda started to say hello, but it was interrupted by a feirce yawn.

"Sorry...it's really early." he snuffled afterwards.

"You big baby." I joked, gently punching him in the arm.

"Shhh." Arra hissed. The Princes appeared to be getting ready to speak.

"First of all, I would like to thank all of you for another successful and enjoyable Festival. I am pleased to report there were no fatalities this year." Paris boomed with a twinkle in his eye. "Attendance was the highest it's been in 200 years, and we have exactly three barrels of ale left - we started with 194."

A hoarse cheer went up from the assembled Vampires. I couldn't help but feel if I'd drank all three nights, Vampire Mountain would be in an alcohol deficit right now. I exchanged a smirk with Gavner.

"Getting down to business..." Arrow rumbled sounding slightly impatient. "I know there are rumours going around regarding the nature of this mission, and I am going to dispel them now. This is not a pre-emptive strike, we are simply gathering information so we can decide whether a pre-emptive strike will be necessary in the future. We will be capturing several prisoners who we will bring back here. Once we have found out what they know, they will be disposed of." he concluded icily. As he spoke, his face was completely expressionless, save for the steely glint in his eyes.

"Our sources tell us there could be up to 40 Vampaneze hiding out in this fort, give or take a few. Their numbers will most likely be superior, however we posess the invaluable element of suprise - which is far more effective than numbers. We have learned this from past battles, but they have not. " Mika added.

"Take all 'em bastards down, boys!" howled a creaky but enthusiastic voice from somewhere in the audience - an old man who hadn't quite sobered up yet. The others chuckled good-naturedly at his outburst.

"That's the plan." Arrow affirmed in a voice of quiet determination. He exchanged a glance with Paris and Mika, fire in their eyes. I could sense the tension in the air, fueled by excitement, anticipation, and sheer bloodlust. And it was contagious, I could feel it growing inside me like a thunderhead waiting to burst.

"So what becomes of the Vampaneze that aren't taken prisoner? You'll slaughter them like beef cattle and leave them to rot, am I right?" Kurda interrupted testily, stepping forward and directing his comment at the Princes. I was shocked - I knew he was a whiner, but I had no idea he had that much nerve.

Arrow's eyes flashed dangerously and his lip twitched, exposing gritted teeth. Kurda noticed, and looked like he was really regretting opening his mouth.

"It's just that...if we thought about it, there has to be a better way than killing them all..." The blonde seemed to lose his confidence as his voice trailed off.

"Shut up, Smahlt." Mika retorted, almost boredly.

"Mik- I mean, Sire- I-" Kurda sputtered in frustration.

"I said, _shut-_" the dark Prince snarled, taking a step forwards. Paris cut him off.

"That is enough." the ancient man reprimanded sharply, glaring at them both.

Kurda looked relieved, and retreated several steps. Mika assumed tbe facial expression of a little boy who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He bowed his head submissively, but not without a resentful glare. Although there are no ranks among Princes, it was easy to see who was really in charge around here. The other Princes clearly had respect above all else for Paris Skyle.

"If no one else has any _objections_..." Arrow spoke precisely with an unmistakeable glare at Kurda. "...it is time to announce the team we have chosen. As you all know, this is a mission that requires skill, precision and sheer _balls_."

Scattered laughter broke out at his word choice. Yes, this included me.

"You laugh, but those of you who have completed a raid will know I'm right." the Prince continued haughtily with a grim smile. "Those of you who haven't - don't kid yourself. It's still a battle, it's still dangerous, and we still lose great men _all the time_."

"To Clayton! Even in death may he be triumphant!" someone yelled from the middle of the crowd. The assembled Vampires echoed in a murmur and made the Death's Touch sign. I dimly recalled Arra and Grayson discussing the recently deceased Clayton - despite having never met the man, I had heard good things about him during the last few days. I made the sign myself and muttered, "Even in death may he be triumphant."

If he was anything like the friends I'd made here, he deserved all the honour we could give him.

"Even in death may he be triumphant." Arrow agreed with a nod. "He was a great soldier, strong and loyal as we all must strive to be. His death will be a setback to our army, no doubt. But he did not die in vain - he took down no less than four Vampaneze before succumbing to injuries. For this, I salute him."

From where I was standing, I could see Grayson nodding somberly. He'd been a part of the battle that had claimed Clayton's life, and from what I gathered they'd been long-time friends.

_That's how I want to go. _I told myself in a moment of feirce decisiveness. I couldn't imagine anything better than going down in a blaze of glory, surrounded by those I'd defeated, my friends fighting at my side as I make a final infuriating wisecrack at our enemies before passing into the afterlife. I wanted to be remembered like Clayton.

Don't think im envying a dead man or anything... I'm certainly alright with waiting to live out my death fantasy until after a long life of fighting for the good of the Clan. Some day, they'll drink to me and a Prince -maybe even Arrow- will stand up in that very spot, make the Death's Touch sign and say "Here's to Kayden. Her memory lives on in us - fight like a girl!"

For the moment, the mental image made me smile. But I wouldn't realize till much later how incredibly vain and stupid that entire train of thought was.

Mika began to speak again, and I supressed my imagination to fully absorb what he was saying;

"Arrow and I will be leading this mission. Vanez Blane will be our Second-In-Command. Our presiding generals will be Yebba Hawthorn, Charlen Vost, Runar Banes, and Grayson Hadley" -Alexine whooped obnoxiously at the mention of her husband's name. "-as well as their respective soldiers." Mika concluded.

About two dozen men from around the room cheered mightily and ran to the front to stand with the Generals, who shook their hands in a congratulatory manner.

"Each General has a handful of soldiers who fight with them. Wherever the Generals go, their soldiers usually follow. The Princes pick the Generals with the best armies." Gavner muttered to satisfy my confused expression. Vampire military politics are new to me!

"Okay, Ver Leth. Get to the good part already." Arra hissed under her breath. As if he'd heard her, Mika addressed the crowd once more.

"Finally, the apprentices who will be getting their first taste of battle in the coming days..."

"For _some _of us, this will be our _second_ raid, actually." Arra muttered feistily, referring to herself. "We're not _all _young-bloods."

"And we're not all ass-kissers either." I ventured with a sideways glare at the black haired Vampiress. She didn't acknowledge, but I don't know how she couldn't have heard me.

"All of us have been apprentices in the past - we've all been at the bottom of the pack. Missions like this are the stepping stones that lead to the top. These nights and these battles are what makes or breaks us as Vampires. The fact that we're standing here already sets us apart from the rest of the world. We. Are. _Legendary_."

I had to admit, Arrow's speech was giving me goosebumps. I glanced around at my little pack, Arra was staring at the Prince with rapt, worshipful attention. Larten looked a little bit green. Gavner was wearing a dumbstruck lop-sided grin. Kurda looked interested despite himsef.

Mika picked up where Arrow left off:

"Apprentices, your legend begins tonight. How you live it out is up to you. Your individual road will be different from those of your comrades, but you will share the same triumphs, and the same pitfalls. You will laugh, cry, and bleed together. You'll meet your closest friends, your greatest rivals and your worst enemies on the road that lies ahead of you now."

Arrow paused with a sweeping gaze around the hall. Our eyes crossed paths for a moment - I managed not to flinch. The tattooed Prince tossed a quick nod in the direction of his black-clad colleague. In turn, Mika looked to Paris who gave one slow, final nod as if to say, "Go for it."

Mika faced the crowd.

"Apprentices - after I call your name, try not to faint and come join your fellow warriors at the front of the room."

I heard Arra take a deep breath. I felt Gavner tense up beside me - I shot a quick request up to the Gods of the Vampires on his behalf. I knew how badly he wanted this.

"Adrien Black."

He was one of the apprentices I hadn't met yet. As he hurried up to the front of the room, I could see he was a thick guy with dark red hair and pale eyes. I'd seen him at distance a few times, no formal introduction as of yet.

Applause for Adrien, then silence as all eyes fixed on Mika once again...

"Larten Crepsley."

I smiled and patted him on the back as he strode past me, trying to look cool and confident despite the fact that he was turning beet red. Gavner's lip twitched nervously. Arra looked as if she might explode from impatience. Kurda kept rolling his eyes as though this was all beneath him, until...

"Kurda Smahlt."

The blonde's jaw dropped to the floor, along with Arra's. I was half-expecting her to jump Kurda and strangle the living shit out of the poor man. His eyes darted incredulously around the room as though waiting for somone to shout "April Fools." But no one did, so he stepped up to the front of the room looking completely flabbergasted, and possibly a fragment of pride. His applause was slightly sporadic, apparently he wasn't the only one who'd been caught off-guard by this news.

"Nero Varland."

Again, one I hadn't met yet. He looked like a real mean S-O-B. His facial expression reminded of of Storm, minus the cocky grin. Plus a bit of sadism. Not one to mess with. And I think he may have had fangs.

"Darrick McKinley."

Another stranger, although I'd heard Alexine mention him. Not a bad-looking one. Intelligence - questionable. Muscles - abundant.

"Arra Sails."

Finally. Her constant teeth-grinding had escalated to the point where I wanted to jam a piece of wood in her mouth to put a stop to the awful sound.

"Serrano Fiera."

Stranger to me. He was welcomed into the crowd of the chosen with open arms and multiple fist-bumps and bear hugs.

"Gavner Purl."

He'd been looking a bit pale prior to hearing his name called, so I was relieved to see his face assume his typical happy-go-lucky grin once again.

"I knew it!" I shrieked happily, giving him a quick hug. The hall errupted in applause - he was clearly well-liked by all his colleagues. He tried to remain dignified and stoic as he took his place among the chosen, but I wouldn't have been suprised if he burst out in song. At the very least, his grin didn't fade.

This looked like the end of the roll-call. The Princes were muttering back and forth to each other, and the Generals were adressing their newly formed team. I was mentally preparing myself for a long, excruciating week with only Alexine for company, when I almost had a coronary;

"Kayden Stone."

Apparently Mika wasn't at the bottom of his list after all.

"WHAT?" I barked instinctively, as I tend to do when things don't make sense.

Mika glared. Arrow smirked. Gavner shot me a Just-Get-Your-Ass-Up-Here look. I obliged, not really noticing the scattering of suprised but well-intentioned applause directed at me.

"Sires, what is this? I'm not even an apprentice, I've only been here four days." I hissed at the Princes as soon as I was within earshot.

"Are you a fully trained warrior?" Mika replied skeptically.

"No."

"Do you wish to be?" Arrow inquired.

"Y-Yeah, of course, I-I-"

Damn stuttering. When I hear other people stutter, I have to restrain myself from strangling them. Now listen to me!

"Then you're an apprentice. Congratulations. Now go pack." Mika ordered gruffly before shuffling off to converse with Paris.

Okay. Well that works, I guess.

I turned to face my newly-fellow apprentices. Arra's expression of aghast stood out with horrific clarity. I couldn't take it, I had to call her on it.

"Oh, don't look so suprised." I told her breezily, keeping the snappiness to a minimum.

"I...I'm just...suprised they selected you without so much as an assesment." she retorted, gathering her wits.

"Unless you count me taking you down that one time." I replied with the most genuine smile I could manage.

Her face darkened. I knew she wouldn't use the classic 'I let you win' line because -let's face it- everyone who knew her knew that wouldn't ever happen in a million years.

So she went for the equally classic, "You cheated."

"Beg pardon?" I snapped.

"You pinned me down by impaling my foot. Staff fighting is an art form, not a bar fight. Or - would you know the difference?"

My temper bubbled like lava, punching through the earth's rocky crust.

"Just admit I beat you!" I snarled, taking a step in her direction.

_Don't hit her don't hit her don't hit her..._

"I don't know _who _you think you are." I continued in a gravelly hiss.

_Don't hit her...you'll get kicked off the raid if you hit her...don't hit her..._

"I think I've earned my place here, unlike _some_.'' she shot back venemously, not backing down. "You don't just _walk _into Vampire Mountain and automatically gain respect, _especially _if you're a woman. Do you think I got where I am just by having tits? I had to fight for everything I have, and even now I'm only just beginning to earn the respect of my comrades."

Wow. Apparently I'd touched a nerve. She looked beyond infuriated, as though I'd punched her grandma or something. This was starting to feel personal.

"And you just walk in here as if it's all a big game." she added coldly. "So, tell me. How exactly did you _earn_ your spot on this team, hmm?"

For a moment, I gaped at her. Then it suddenly clicked - I knew what she was implying. My gods! Who did she think I was, Alexine? My nose wrinkled and my upper lip curled into a snarl, baring my teeth.

"You. Are _crazy_." I spat back. I desperately wished I hadn't engaged this argument.

"Which one was it?" she inquired in a chilly whisper, glancing at Mika and Arrow. "Or was it both of them at the same-"

"_ARRA_." Larten wailed shrilly. "Stop! Just stop, both of you! We have to go!"

Arra seemed to regain some control, and she looked around self-consciously, as though fearful she'd been overheard. It looked like we were safe, our only eavesdroppers were Larten, Kurda, and Gavner whose expressions ranged from dissapointment to mild amusement.

"We'll settle this on the trail." Arra muttered coldly.

"By the time this raid is over, no one will even remember your name." I sneered back with as much contempt as I could muster.

"You really think it'll be that easy to outdo me?" Arra smirked.

"We're on the same side here!" Kurda interjected with a horrified gasp. "The last thing we need is our teammates turning against each other!"

"You're not involved, Kurda!" I growled.

"It's just you and me." Arra murmured harshly.

"No." I shrugged coldly, turning to walk away. "It's just me." I concluded without a backwards glance.

In case you missed it, that was the moment my greatest rivalry was born.

* * *

_Your home girl hatin'_  
_I say who she?_

* * *

They're not supposed to be hiphop vampires... I'll stop using Ke$ha songs, I swear.

rxx


	6. Don't Back Up, Don't Back Down

EDITED: chapters 11 and 12 combined

Lyrics property of Jason Aldean, _The Only Way I Know_

* * *

_Nobody really seemed to care_  
_That we were living in the middle of nowhere_  
_We just figured that's how it was_  
_And everybody else was just like us_  
_Soaking in the rain baking in the sun_  
_Don't quit 'til the job gets done_

* * *

It didn't take me long to pack, because of my short stay in Vampire Mountain hadn't given me the chance to disorganize my room beyond recognition. I was so flustered I probably would have walked into the wrong room, had Gavner not assisted me.

"Um, pretty much take watever weapons you have. Sword, shield, mace, whatever. Anything you can use for busting heads." he instructed, glancing around my room and stepping gingerly over a pair of panties on the floor. I cringed and pretended I hadn't seen it.

"I have a sword...that's about it." I told him with a slight frown, picking up my old metallic companion and strapping it to my belt.

"We'll take a detour to the armoury. You can't run off to battle without a decent shield. Do you have anything for armour?"

"No?" I groaned. I'd fought for my life a good few times, but I'd never been in an organized battle.

"We'll grab you some of that, too." Gav replied with a grimace.

"Hey, I never said I was prepared!" I shot back, bunching a handful of clothes into my backpack. "How long are we gone, anyway?"

"Few days, depending on how long we have to walk. This one's pretty close compared to some othrs."

"Sleeping arrangements?" I asked.

"Good old-fashioned nature's mattress." Gavner laughed. "Sleepin' like logs on the ground. Unless we get real lucky and find a way station."

"Great." I sighed. Sleeping on the ground with... pretty much everyone.

"Trust me, as soon as the temperature dives, you won't care who you're sleeping beside - as long as they block the wind. You won't even care that everyone smells like sweat and blood." said Gavner insightfully.

"Just when I didn't think it could get any better! Well, I think that's pretty much everything." I summarized, staring around the room to see if I'd missed anything.

"Holdddd on there! You have an uneven number of socks!" Gavner gasped mock-dramatically, picking up a stray sock that had escaped my watchful eyes.

"Thank you SO very much." I sighed in sarcastic relief, popping the sock in my bag with the others.

"No problem." said the burly Vampire. "You're gonna need all the socks you can get."

###

The raid team left Vampire Mountain an hour after the team was announced. With Gavner's help (his limited expertise had to suffice because Arra refused to lend her knowledge) I was outfitted with a round steel-cored shield, coated in layers of thick leather. It was light and would absorb blows, rather than shaking my whole body when I was hit - but hopefully that wouldn't happen too often.

"Here we go!" Gavner narrated cheerfully as we picked our way down the rockface and through the shrubbery at the base of the mountain.

"It's almost as if you've never been on a raid before." Arra quipped impatiently. "Oh wait... you haven't."

"Isn't this your second?" I chipped in. "Wow. That sure does put you way beyond the rest of us! Imagine that, Gav. She's got _one whole _raid under her belt!"

"Umm... you'll have to forgive me, but I haven't yet spotted the attraction in all this." Kurda grunted, shoving branches out of the way."

"It is all in the experience, Smahlt." Larten huffed, already out of breath.

"Apprentices, keep up! You're falling behind!" one of the unfamilliar Generals bellowed from farther ahead of us. We picked up the pace. Arra nimbly picked her way through the crowd to go kiss the Princes' asses. Larten tailed after her, muttering an excuse about needing to ask the Generals a question. Gavner caught up with Adrien Black, Serrano Fiera, and Nero Varland to engage in a discussion about tactics. Kurda stayed at the back of the pack, stumbling along pitifully. I stuck with him for about 30 seconds before deciding I wasn't in the mood to be a good friend. I moved ahead to join Gavner and meet the rest of the apprentices, but I was intercepted by Darrick McKinley who was apparently using this as an opportunity to troll for...well, anything he could get.

"Um... hi. You're...oh my gods...Karla? Kathy? Kate?"

"Kayden."

"Kayden! Right! Gods, I'm so sorry. I'm Darrick. You can call me Dar. Or Rick. Anything but Ick. But I guess you could call me that if you wanted. Whatever you want, I'm yours. Oh shit. Was that out loud?"

This was going to be one _long_ walk.

I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled towards the front of the line. "CAN THIS THING GO ANY FASTER?"

Despite a few other grumbling protests, the Princes demanded that we adhere to the old traditions - no flitting allowed with the Mountain in such close proximity. Even when it faded into the distance we were still trudging like animals. The abundant snow drifts, hidden patches of ice, trees, and rocks made the going slow and tedious, but clearly these Vampires were accustomed to making the most of it. A few soldiers had packed along flasks of V-Whiskey which they were shooting at liberty. This went on for about an hour before the Princes noticed - and they were only alerted when a man called Trenton accidentally took a walk off a ravine and into a freezing river. It was a short drop, but nonetheless he looked pretty miserable as the whole troop crowded around to watch Arrow and Grayson haul his drunken hypothermic ass out of the water. After this incident, Mika and Arrow confiscated the ale.

"Party's over. This is serious. We're bringing you to fight, not to drink." Arrow reprimanded sullenly.

"What he said." Mika contributed, taking a sip out of one of the confiscated flasks just to see the furiously indignant expression on its owner's face.

"Great example you're setting, Sire Ver Leth." Arrow scoffed, but not without a spark of humour in his blazing eyes.

"I'm not the one who got...what was it? _Alcohol poisoning _from showing off." Mika retorted.

"Moving out!" Arrow yelled loudly at the troops, avoiding Mika's statement.

I used the pause as an opportunity to escape the conversation I'd gotten into with Darrick. He was well-intentioned, but I didn't care in the slightest for the hour he spent describing his customized sword, shield and matching body armor. I slipped up to the middle of the line where Arra, Larten and Gavner were walking side-by-side comparing daggers. I stepped up on Gav's right side, so that two Vampires were between Arra and me.

We laughed and joked for hours, and the miles flew by as we walked. We discussed and debated the finer points of weaponry at one point, then (don't ask me how) that escalated into a full-on thumb war between Larten and Gavner. They finished with bruised digits, but no clear winner...until Gav tipped a branch full of snow onto Larten's head we walked through a cluster of pine trees.

"Yaaaaagh!" the orange-haired Vampire yelped, hopping hilariously and clawing at his back, trying to stop the snow from dripping down his spine while Gavner laughed himself into oblivion. The rest of us did the same, including the Princes who abandoned all dignity to ridicule Larten. Even Arra cracked a smile. Gavner certainly was a crowd-pleaser.

How is this FUNNY?" Larten howled, ripping off his soaked coat, revealing only a thin shirt underneath. Upon exposure to the cold, his exposed white flesh immediately developed some astounding goosebumps, and the hilarity mounted.

"If you could see yourself!" I cackled, holding my sides in laughter. He looked down at his pale, skinny, goosebumped arms and turned bright red. Despite the fact that it was soaking, he pulled his coat back on.

"Gavner Purl, I will get you for this if it's the last thing I ever ever do." Larten snapped.

"Lighetn up, Creps! Live a little." Adrien Black suggested between fits of laughter.

"Let's see how YOU like it then!" the inconsolable Larten roared, leaping upwards and pulling a snow-laden branch down at Adrien's head, but the ensuing avalanche doused not only Adrien but Mika, Arrow, and the Generals as well.

"Not so funny now, is-" Larten began to taunt Adrien, but stopped short when he saw the _much _higher-ranked Vampires shaking snow from their clothes. Larten went from bright red to deathly pale.

"Sires, I-I-I am...so-o s-s-s-sorry!" he stammered pathetically, wringing his hands. "I d-d-didn't mean t-t-o-o.

I'd never seen Larten look so un-composed before. He looked like he was expecting a beating.

Arrow's eyes flashed dangerously. He bared his teeth and advanced on the quivering Crepsley. Larten held his ground, but looked like he was ready to vomit. Arrow stopped a foot away from Larten, seemingly ready to deal a death blow. The orange-haired Vampire shrank backwards from the tattooed Prince...

Then Arrow casually leaned back, crossed his arms, tilted his head to the side and spoke three words that made Larten go red once more:

"I'm telling Seba."

###

It took almost an hour for Larten's face to go back to its normal colour, that situation was probably the biggest embarrassment of his entire life. He also looked like the coldest person I'd ever seen; his coat hadn't dried out at all and he was shivering so much it was restricting his walking speed to a crawl. I couldn't help but notice Arra also dropped her speed to stick close to him.

"We'll be staying at a way station tonight!" Mika yelled from the front of the line, momentarily distracting me from my spying.

"Thank the gods!" Larten croaked.

"It's only a few more hours north, keep moving!" Arrow added.

Larten groaned. I groaned too, but not loudly enough for anyone to hear. But it wouldn't have mattered because complaints were being grumbled all around me. As tough as this troop was, the cold was starting to get to us, and the rough, icy terrain wasn't helping at all.

Larten wasn't looking good at all. An hour ago it had been funny, but now he was starting to look destitute. He was still walking, but he looked like a corpse. He'd left the soaking coat on as protection from the wind, but I could feel the damp chill just by looking at him. Ouch.

Gavner certainly didn't feel much better, since he was the cause of Larten's misery from his snow-dumping innovation. He kept glancing backwards at his suffering friend, sympathy and guilt etched on his usually cheerful visage.

"What if he drops dead?" Gavner moaned. "It'll be all my fault!"

''Hey. Don't think like that." I insisted. "He's a tough Vampire. He'll be fine, we're almost there."

"No we're not." Nero Varland contributed. "I've been to this way station before, it's ages away."

"Any volunteers to take over Gavner's position as the positive one of this group?" I inquired with raised eyebrows, ignoring Nero's comment.

"Definitley not." Kurda growled, taking off his boot to shake out snow for the 5th time.

Serrano and Adrien were too busy teasing Darrick about his "girly-looking" set of battle equipment to respond, so I took that as a no. Well, it certainly wasn't going to be me, and Arra was too busy gently coaxing the hypothermic Larten to have even heard me, so it looked like our motley crew would be going without a positive spirit for the remainder of this gruelling hike.

###

One more hour later, Larten passed out. Just dropped to the ground and lay there, still and silent as the snow around him.

Gavner completely lost his head and screamed nonstop for 7 whole minutes that he'd killed his best friend.

Arra maintained a cool head, but looked extremely upset as she frantically checked for a heartbeat.

"He's alive." she gasped as the Princes halted the troops and sprinted to the back of the line to examine the fallen apprentice.

"Of course he is, his body's just shut down from the cold." Arrow informed her.

"Oh. His body _just_ shut down. So no reason to worry or anything." Arra sneered sarcastically through gritted teeth. "Your clothes are wet too, why are you fine?"

"Bigger. Stronger. Experienced. Did I mention stronger? Take your pick." Mika shrugged cooly as Arrow pulled out a flask and poured some liquid into Larten's motionless lips. Arra tore her gaze from Larten and stared at Mika with venom in her eyes.

"You ignorant self-posessed bastard." she hissed fiercely.

Mika narrowed his eyes, but she didn't give him time to respond.

She punched him.

She dealt a pretty fierce blow to his upper arm, I figured he'd be feeling that one tomorrow. But never mind that, an apprentice had just assaulted a Vampire Prince, what the hell did she think she was doing? Sure his jab at Larten hadn't exactly been nice, but it was true. Not that that mattered, he could have told her the sky was green and grass was purple and she still had no business hitting him.

I thought he'd lose his temper an hit her back, or yell at the very least. His nose wrinkled disdainfully and his upper lip curled back in a snarl as he met her furious gaze. I could see his mental gears turning, trying to decide how to deal with this, but Arrow shot him a very pointed look, and the dark Prince's features slackened instantly - although reluctantly. Mika gave Arra one last glare before walking away to converse with the Generals.

Now I knew two things for sure. Something was up between Mika and Arra. The Prince would have drop-kicked anyone else without blinking. And the second thing... the look Mika and Arrow had exchanged. That one look told me without a shadow of a doubt that Mika had unshakeable respect for his fellow Prince. And whatever was between Arra and Mika, Arrow knew about it.

Meanwhile, Larten's soaked coat had been removed and he'd been wrapped securely in a dry replacement. It looked familliar, then I realized Arra was suddenly coatless.

I smiled despite my dislike for the darkhaired warrior. She had a good heart - and at the very least, a definite soft spot for Larten Crepsley.

###

Another hour, and we finally made it to the way station.

Larten had been too disoriented to realize whose coat he was wearing, or else he would have given it back to her by force, if necessary. For the last part of the journey, Adrien and Darrick walked on either side of her with their arms around her shoulders to keep her warm. Larten had been shielded from the wind by an escort complied of myself, Kurda, Serrano, and Nero. Gav walked right beside him, giving him a support to lean on while apologizing profusely and promising never to commit another practical joke as long as he lived.

"Enough, Gavner. We both know that will never happen." Larten eventually murmured to put an end to his friend's continuous stream of promises.

"Yes, well... anything you want, I'll make it up to you. I didn't know a bit of snow could cause to much damage." the kind, burly Vampire sputtered in distress.

"Let us just say... you owe me big." Larten smiled weakly as we filed into the way station.

It was a simple place, the entrance was a blink-and-you-miss-it crack between two boulders at the foot of a hill. It wasn't big enough to fit through without a good bit of wiggling. Arrow wedged his body into the crack then pushed outward, further separating the rocks until we could squeeze through single-file. Once inside, there was a narrow stoney corridoor which went on for several meters, then widened into a chamber big enough to house a good-sized group.

I was one of the last few to step in; once everyone was inside Arrow got ready to move the boulder back into place. He shook his head as though trying to wake himself up - it looked like moving the rock had sapped a lot of his energy. Even for a Vampire, that was no easy feat.

My brain told me to keep my mouth shut and go lie down with the others, but my mouth disagreed.

"Want some help?" I asked. Outwardly, I managed to sound casual. Inside... I don't know how to describe the feeling, but it was far from casual.

"Would you mind?" his voice sounded just as casual as mine, but his face suggested the last thing he'd expected was my offer of assistance.

"Sure, moving this thing can't be easy." I replied, shuffling up beside him and laying my hands on the cold, rough stone.

"Good observation." Arrow replied with a tired smile. "On three. One...two..."

"Three." our voices synchronized, and our muscles did the same. I suppressed a grunt of exertion as I threw all my weight at the rock. Because we were pushing on a slight uphill angle, it took a minute of shoving before we even budged it. As we pitted our Vampiric frames against the massive product of nature, my arm brushed ever so slightly against Arrow's, and I developed goosebumps that would have rivalled Larten's. My body felt like it was on fire, but that made me push all the harder. Beside me, Arrow emitted a low groan of discomfort; I felt his pain. We were Vampire-tough, but we weren't indestructible. walking all day had taken a toll, and we were really feeling it now that we were putting our muscles to a final test.

One final shove, I slammed my body against the rock to give it an extra bit of momentum and it ground back into place.

"Urgh." Arrow sighed, body sagging against the wall.

"That wasn't so hard." I panted, leaning against the opposite wall.

"Wipe the sweat off your face and I might half-believe you." Arrow replied with a tired smile, running a large hand over his brow.

"That obvious?" I despaired, opening my backpack and whipping out the first thing I touched - a sock - and rubbed it over my wet face.

"Nah." Arrow smirked. "But seriously - thanks Kade. I owe you one."

"Don't mention it." I breezed. "We're nothing if not honourable, right?"

It wasn't until after I lay down in one of the last free spots on the floor when I made a realization.

He called me by my nickname.

Not Kayden. Not Miss Stone.

_I was on nickname terms with a prince._

###

The night started out as simply as the previous had ended. The way station had gotten incredibly chilly, we hadn't kept a fire going since there was nowhere for the smoke to ventilate. Our combined body heat kept us from hypothermia, but it was still uncomfortably cool.

I woke up sandwiched between Gavner and Darrick, and when I sat up the first thing I saw was Larten and Arra, peacefully entangled and still snoozing. If anyone else saw them, she'd likely deploy the "I was keeping him warm!" excuse. I supposed it was plausible, after yesterday's innocent prank had put Crepsley in a sorry state and he still didn't look one hundred percent. But _really,_ who were they kidding?

I darted outside for a quick pee, before the boys could wake up and disperse to do their own business.

Gods damn, it was _so_ cold. Peeing outside is not my favourite.

I was about to slide through the small crack between the two boulders and return to the relative warmth of the enclosed space, when the giant stones began to slide apart on their own accord, and the compact, muscular form of none other than Prince Arrow emerged into the dim twilight.

He instantly tensed upon seeing me - nice battle reflexes - but his face went from startled to amused in the space of a second as soon as he noticed it was just me, rather than an enemy scout. A smirk broke uninvitedly across my face. His expression was reminscent of the night - it seemed so long ago - when I'd bandaged his cut hand after a drinking mishap. I felt myself melt a little bit. Beneath that tough, tattooed exterior, there was a big baby. That is, a big baby who knew how to pull off a lethal attack. I could practically feel anticipation radiating from him in waves. I recalled the old photo in his coffin; this fight - _every fight - _was personal to him.

"Good evening, Kayden." he greeted me lightly, passing his eyes through mine before focusing on the emerging stars above us.

"Good evening sire, I was just heading back inside." I shivered, angling my body towards the boulders.

"I was going to head down to the stream for a drink." he countered. "I wouldn't mind some company."

_Keep it together..._

"Ah, sure."

Side by side, but keeping a professional distance, we sauntered silently and peacefully in the direction of a bubbling stream. Once I'd gotten past the initial pain of such an early wake-up, the twilight had a pleasant atmosphere. The sun was a microscopic sliver of red on the horizon, too weak to burn our Vampiric flesh. The air was damp and crisp, a welcome relief after inhaling the body odour of dozens of travel-worn Vampires all night.

The sun dissapeared completely by the time we wet our throats with sweet, crystalline stream water. Twilight was past; and the night was ours. I felt the imposing presence of the future looming all around us, like something bigger was on the horizon.

"What's it gonna be like?"

Well shit, I guess my Stupid Question curse is permanent after all.

Arrow took my youthful ignorance in stride as we began walking slowly back to the way station. He briefly glanced at me with a trace of a smile on his face.

"Today's important." he mused after a moment of thoughtful silence. "Won't be the biggest battle we've ever had, but it's far from a skirmish. I don't believe it will take very long, but I'm expecting to take home some new scars."

My eyeballs expanded involuntarily. He chuckled at my expression.

"Several dozen Vampires and Vampaneze swinging blades left and right, nobody goes home without a scratch." he clarified skeptically. "Don't tell me you've never gotten one."

"'Course I have." I blustered, pulling up my sleeve to reveal the first one that came to mind, a long thin scar down my left forearm. "Mugger, 4 years ago. His knife got me right before I broke his wrist."

Arrow smiled serenely and tugged the collar of his shirt, and I glimpsed a thick, jagged souvenir of a long-healed abrasion just between where his neck met his shoulders.

"Battle axe, 9 years ago. Smashed my collar bone and lost half my blood supply."

He sounded extremely proud of himself. I ran my hand along my own collar bone, and imagined a heavy piece of sharpened steel crushing into it, the bone shattering and the blood spurting... so I stopped thinking about it.

"And you kept on fighting, right?" I asked him.

He snorted inelegantly. "I'm a Vampire, not a god; of course not. I blacked out two seconds later and lay there for gods-know-how-long till Mika and Grayson dragged me back to the Mountain for Seba to patch up. While he was at it, he put fifteen stitches in here." He pulled up his sleeve and pointed at a very faded mark on his lower arm.

"Vampires do stitches?" I asked incredulously.

"Not often." Arrow shrugged. "But Seba knows a lot about the little things like that. We usually let wounds heal on their own - tough it out - unless they're really wide and deep, like mine was. Seba stitched it so it didn't get infected. Plus some Vampaneze troops used to play real dirty and dip their weapons in poison before battle. Can't even trust those bastards to play fair." he digressed with a gravelly snarl in his voice.

I arched an eyebrow and half-lifted the corner of my shirt where there was a more recent scar on my hip.

"Right here; Vampaneze nicked me with a spear. It bled a ton, but...yeah, I can't beat a crushed collarbone. You win." I conceded.

Arrow assumed a look of playful satisfaction. Nothing a big Vampire boy likes more than bragging about his battle scars. Storm was the same way, only his were more like paper cuts.

We must have been walking a bit slower than we thought, because the rest of the gang was up and at 'em when we got back to the way station. Mika was standing by the boulders, flanked by Grayson and Runar. Everyone else was gathered before them, listening in rapt attention.

"...about two hours west. It's a compound surrounded by a stone wall - it's supposed to be protection so nothing gets in. But there's only one entrance, and once we're in there, nothing's getting out. Their protection will become their doom - we fight inside the walls and guard the gate." Mika was explaining as we walked up. The dark Prince's eyes glimmered with supressed anticipation as he addressed the warriors. He paused cast an bemused glance towards Arrow, who shrugged in return.

"How are we getting in?" Arra demanded impatiently.

"Building a giant slingshot and throwing ourselves over the wall." Gavner replied matter-of-factly.

"Purl..." General Runar hissed warningly.

"I assume the team list will be reviewed more thoroughly next time?" Arra muttered coldly. "Some of us should still be in basic training." she shifted her mean little eyes towards Gavner, attacking him with her extremely tedious death glare.

Arrow let out a loud, harsh laugh.

"Sails, get over yourself. For you, this _is_ basic training."

I thought Arra would literally explode, or at least kick a tree in fury. Anyone but a Prince would have gotten a kick in the soft spot for having the nerve to take her down a peg.

"I'm sorry I even opened my mouth." Gavner sighed.

"Hey." I protested, gently punching him in the arm. "Someone here has to have a sense of humour."

"Sense of humor needs a sense of timing. Which I don't have." he groaned, rubbing his hand along his face. I rolled my eyes and bumped my elbow against his.

"Either shut up or go home, we don't have time for joking around." Mika barked to the crowd at large. "Everyone pay attention because we will _not _ be repeating ourselves."

"We patrol the perimiter once, then we crack the gate and take out the guards." said Arrow. "Once they're down, we go in quiet and get a visual through the windows. When we see what we're up against, we go all-out offensive and take them by suprise. We're taking five prisoners at the most, the rest die. Don't ever let them forget who we are, we run this land. We. Are. VAMPIRES!"

Arrow was no longer the joking companion with whom I'd walked down to the stream. He'd slipped silently and effortlessly into his battle phsyche, leaving no trace of empathy or good humour, not providing a single glimpse of vulnerability. Gavner didn't have a wisecrack to follow his words. Arra didn't have a sharp-tongued comment. I didn't have anything except a growing fire deep in my bones as I looked up at our leaders, their strength and passion igniting emotions I didn't know I had. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was part of something. They say no man is an island, but till now I always liked being relatively alone in the world. Only now did I feel like there was something so much bigger out there, and I was along for the ride.

A raucous cheer split the icy early-night air, as our troop of Vampire warriors absorbed the Princes' words, and they sunk deep into each and every one of us, embedding their sharp truth into our hearts and minds.

"MOVING OUT." Mika bellowed. Our gang took off at a brisk walk.

"You ready for this?" Gavner asked me, grinning wolfishly.

"I was born for this." I breathed.

Then, someone snorted derisively right behind me;

"Just wait till you get your first taste of battle. And I don't mean beating off johns in a bar, I mean real _combat_, the Vampire way. You won't last a minute." Arra sneered.

She sounded so pretentious I couldn't have taken her seriously if I'd tried.

"_Beating off johns in a bar_?" I shot back incredulously. "Who the hell do you think I -"

"Not worth it, she's not worth it!" Gavner chided desperately, grabbing my shoulders and steering me away.

"Rise above it." Adrien chipped in from my left side. "Welcome to the life on the raid team, mind games are something you learn to deal with."

"And eventually you learn how to play your own." Nero added sneakily.

"It's not a mind game if it's the truth!" Arra persisted.

"By the black blood of Harnon Oan, Arra. You need to find a better method of venting your nerves." Mika commented skeptically.

"I'm _not_ nervous!" she snarled, eyes dark with frustration. But I didn't miss the red tinge creeping up into her cheeks...

"Arra, let's take a walk." Mika ordered abruptly, stepping away from the pack and slipping through the trees so he was walking parallel to the rest of us, about 20 feet away. Arra followed with her head down and a begruding glare on her face. Once she fell into step beside him, I could hear the beginnings of what sounded like a negotiation, then a heated argument, then Mika's voice assaulted my eardrums out of the blue, with a complete lack of effort to keep their conversation private;

"Gods damn it, Arra. Do you think you're fooling anyone, _especially me_? I can see right through your mask!"

I shot a befuddled look at Gavner, so far he was the one I turned to for answers. He just rolled his eyes.

"YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT ME!" Arra retaliated in a vicious shriek. "You're not my father, you're not my brother, you're not my mate, and you're dangerously close to losing my friendship unless you get over the fact that I'm DONE living in your shadow."

Mika adopted an placating tone with an agressive edge. "You're practically a child, Arra. I _know_ you have more natural talent than most of these men combined, okay? You get it, I get it, we all get it. You're going to be great, but you're crazy if you think-"

"VAMPANEZE APPROACHING!" Arrow bellowed suddenly, imediately crushing the intensity of Mika and Arra's dispute. We all whipped our swords from our sheaths with a swift, synchronized metallic hiss, and raised our shields aloft.

We stood silence for one long minute, muscles tensed and eyes darting. All we could hear was our own breathing, fast and heavy.

"I don't smell a thing. Where the hell are Vampaneze?" Mika snapped finally.

"Nowhere. I wanted you to shut up." Arrow shrugged, slipping his sword back into his sheath. "Keep moving!"

Mika and Arra shot each other a stiff glare, and slipped off in seperate directions. Mika rejoined Arrow and the Generals at the head of the line, and Arra fell back beside Larten, Darrick, and Adrien, a safe distance from me.

"What the hell was that all about?" I asked Gavner in the most covert whisper I could manage.

"Oh gods. Long story, and I don't think I even know the half of it." he sighed as we marched onwards, heart rates slowly dropping after the false alarm.

"I think we have time." I replied decidedly.

Fine, but you didn't hear this from me." Gavner consented. "Okay, first thing you should know: Mika mentored Arra from the time she was blooded till a few months ago. They were like family, closer than close. They say Arra knows things about Mika that the other Princes haven't even heard of. They were like the best partnership you could hope for, if you could roll your father, brother, best friend, and lover into one person - that's what Mika was to her, and vice-versa."

"Lover?" I inquired with a start.

"Mmm, maybe not quite." Gavner shrugged. "We don't have any evidence that they ever took it to that level. But they had a bond like no other."

"I think they did it every day." Nero chimed in obnoxiously.

I stomped on his toe. He yelped like a kicked dog, causing a bunch of heads to turn around and look at us.

"Abuse!" Nero hollered, hopping clutching his foot.

"Chauvinist pig." I retorted.

"Kids, behave or I'll turn this thing around!" Mika snapped sarcastically from the front of the line. His mood had taken a definite downturn since the conclusion of his not-so-incognito fight with Arra. Now it made perfect sense that they could both take someone down with one glare, their identical demeanor, and how much Mika and Arra mirrored each other in every way. I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it before.

When you become a Vampire, everything you are, who you used to be is broken down, disintegrated, and dissected until there's nothing left. It's your mentor who builds you back up and shapes you into the man or woman you'll be for the rest of your near-eternal life - that's what makes a legendary member of the Undead. But I didn't have that background; the others had that much over me. I hadn't been raised and molded by a mentor the way my peers had, I'd spent the past six years just trying to keep mine out of trouble. I'd missed out on being a student. That wasn't to say I hadn't adopted some of Storm's traits, but Gavner, Arra, Larten, and the rest had grown up in an entirely different world from me. I was a latecomer into this world, a rogue joining a pack for the first time. Fate had dealt me an entirely different hand.

"We're one mile off the target, flit on my cue." Arrow ordered; dark, steely voice shattering my reverie. "Prepare for battle."

How I played it, that was up to me.

* * *

_That's the only way I know_  
_Don't stop 'til everything's gone_  
_Straight ahead, never turn round_  
_Don't back up, don't back down_  
_Full throttle, wide open_  
_You get tired and you don't show it_  
_Dig a little deeper when you think you can't dig no more_  
_That's the only way I know_

* * *

action chapter coming up soon :)

rxx


	7. Change What You Call Rage

Okay, for any old reader you will be pleased to see that I combined all of the pervious chapters and got rid of all the stupid blabby A/Ns. I also changed all of the song lyrics and fixed the formatting.

For any new readers, you didn't miss much. Hope you've enjoyed thus far.

Lyrics property of Eminem, _Lose Yourself_

* * *

_Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity  
To seize everything you ever wanted. one moment  
Would you capture it or just let it slip?_

* * *

It's pretty amazing how long you can live in delusion. I thought I'd seen battle before. I thought I knew what a tough fight looked like. I'd had the nerve to think I was a _warrior_.

They'd been ready for us. I don't know how, but when we ran in their weapons were raised and they were poised for battle and nothing less than deadly. Their numbers were superior, but our element of surprise was supposed to outweigh that. Supposed to.

I lost track of how long we'd been in the Vampaneze compound. I knew unequivocally that I was at the bottom of the food chain here. It was pandemonium, I could focus on nothing but keeping myself from getting cut down. Surrounding me were Vampires and Vampaneze driven by the insane fever of battle. Thinking only of slicing each other to ribbons. It was all I could do to stay out of the way and assist my comrades when I could. I felt like a baby, underfoot and unsure of my purpose. My only advantage was that none of the Vampaneze could be bothered with me; why go after a little girl when you could take on a 6 foot tall General? Honour and logic.

"KADE, ON YOUR LEFT!" Gavner roared, streaking past me. I wheeled around in time to dodge a battle axe that had been poised for a clear cut into my skull. I had barely enough time to stab the purple man in the guts before he took another swing at me.

"Thanks, Gav!" I yelled back. But my ally was long gone, swallowed by the crowd of warring bloodsuckers. Safe for the second, I glanced around fervently; Kurda was the first familiar face in my line of vision. Backed into a corner by two leering Vampaneze. He was putting up a brave fight but two on one isn't right. I lunged over and dispatched the taller of the two foes with a sword strike to the jugular. With the other distracted by the sudden loss of his partner, Kurda was able to take an opportunity for a lethal hit of his own.

"Nice one!" I congratulated him, but he was staring down at the newly-vacated corpses with an expression of nauseated disbelief, deaf to my voice and the battle raging around us. "Kurda!" I pressed. "You okay? Snap out of it!"

"I, yeah. Sorry, I just… thanks, Kade." he fumbled, becoming alert once more.

"Won't be the last time I save your ass, but I can only do so much if you're gonna stand there like a retarded tree, _so get_ _moving_!" I roared, clapping his shoulder roughly. I didn't have time to stick around and babysit him. He had years of training on me, if he couldn't keep himself going in battle then he was beyond help. My eyes darted back and forth instinctively, searching out a niche where I could slip in and go to work. I saw Arra, fully consumed by giving a tall skinny Vampaneze a taste of Vampire Mountain justice. She was fighting back-to-back with Larten, and I had to admit they were killing it. Metaphorically speaking and then quite literally as Arra took her opponent down with a slice to the stomach. His fall distracted Larten's charge, and he was taken out in the same way. And Larten stared at Arra from across the corpses the way most men stare at a-

_Crunch._

I took a blunt force hit to the shoulder. Went spiralling into the ground. Saw stars, saw floor, saw ceiling, and finally saw a filthy bearded purple face looming over me as my sword waved about hopelessly, the flat edge of the blade bouncing harmlessly off his legs as I lay like a tipped turtle.

"So the great Princes of Vampire Mountain send little girls to fight their battles now?" he sneered. 6 feet above me and I still caught a whiff of fresh blood and rotten meat.

I tried to utter a sassy retort, but the wind had been smashed out of my lungs. I fought desperately for oxygen, meanwhile he kicked my sword from my hand. I dimly heard it clatter to the floor to the right of me. Reached for it… too far.

"What's the matter, baby?" he hissed lewdly, stepping one heavily-booted foot over, so he was straddling me. "Can't get up? Don't want to?" My hand found its way to my belt, hunting for my dagger. _Please be there._ I locked my eyes onto his, trying to draw his gaze. My expression must have looked strange but if he saw what I was reaching for I'd be dead.

"Oh, I know why the Vampires travel with…_women-folk."_ he smirked in a slow, greasy, deliberate tone, drawing his own sword.

My hand touched my dagger at the same moment he aligned the tip of his sword with my throat.

"I can see it now. You're used to laying on your back-"

The word wasn't even out of his mouth, and I'd reached up and castrated him. I twisted out of the way before his vile blood could spatter me. He fell to his knees shrieking, and then went silent as my dagger went hilt-deep into his soft, exposed throat. I gave it a sharp twist out of spite; he'd been extremely rude. When I wrenched it back out, he fell to the floor. His days of being a masochistic brute were at an end. I wasn't a cold-blooded killer, but I had a feeling that death wasn't going to haunt me.

But I couldn't gloat, one second passed and three more Vampaneze surrounded me, sneering and glaring with weapons raised. They were tired and wounded, but they were huge. And angry. They didn't waste time on small talk like their comrade had, they converged on me and my body went into overdrive, spinning and slicing and dodging and blocking. My dagger hand weaved in and out of their branchlike arms, cutting and jabbing. My other arm was securely encased behind my shield, but starting to ache from absorbing hit after hit. At such close range, their superior numbers were more of a hindrance than an asset; they had to take care not to injure each other by accident and I wasn't making it easy for them. Their lack of coordination was the only reason I lasted more than a minute. But my movements were getting harder, my lungs were aching and my vision was blurring. Although I couldn't tell where, I knew I was hurt and it was only a matter of time before I went down. No one was coming to help me; nor would I expect them to. I couldn't see any allies in the crowd; just faceless soldiers. I just prayed when I passed into the afterlife my friends wouldn't already be there.

My distraction cost me, I felt a blade slice my back and I stumbled. Rolled my ankle while I was at it, too. My head hit the floor and I saw stars again. Way too many stars. My hearing cut out and I waited for the final blow.

Waited to die.

Waited to meet the Vampire Gods.

Waited to -_but seriously_ _what the fuck was taking so long?_

I rolled over painfully and partially sat up. I was sure my vision was failing me because I thought I saw Adrien fighting one and Arra shredding another. The last and largest of my attackers had fallen and was obscured by a black-clad figure who was on his knees and leaning heavily into a sword that was buried in the Vampaneze's chest. He turned, and I could see his face. Twisted in pain and partially obscured by blood, but there was no mistaking Mika Ver Leth. Was I already dead? Were they dead?

I felt my lips move but I couldn't hear anything. Felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around too sharply, and my back screamed in agonized protest. Only then did I realize I was indeed alive. Not well, but alive. Gavner's worried face hovered above me, blurry but undeniable. He was saying something but I couldn't hear him over the ringing in my ears. Mika's lips moved sharply, he appeared to be yelling something to Gavner. Gavner bent down and scooped me up, easily and gently as though i was an infant, shielding me against his broad body as he carried me past the carnage. As we moved I realized I could hear again. The world was no longer blurry and my senses were waking up. The compound looked emptier, or maybe everyone was just dead. Bodies everywhere. Wounded Vampaneze trying to awaken their dead comrades. Something felt eerily wrong. The floor was shiny and red. I started shaking but I couldn't stop staring. Some skirmishes were still raging throughout the room but my brain was sluggish and unwilling to identify faces. I wished my hearing would cut out again; all I heard was dying screams.

We passed through the doors from which we'd came, and I expected to feel the cool relief of fresh air and the peaceful stillness of the night but the battle had spilled out of the compound and into the woods. I caught a glimpse of a Vampaneze running away before he broke into a flit and disappeared from sight. And I saw a body. I couldn't see the face clearly. But it wasn't purple. My heart jumped into my throat.

"_Gav_." I whimpered in disbelief, tapping him on the shoulder and pointing.

"I know." he murmured grimly.

"_Who?_"

"We haven't identified him yet."

The last of my adrenaline quit, and I was ready to be done with this. I suppressed a sob and buried my face into Gavner's chest. Maybe denial would help. He held me tightly, being cautious of my shredded back. He carried me behind the building and up the short hill where we'd gathered before the attack was launched. He set me down and hurried off, reappearing immediately with a blanket that he draped over my shoulders. He ordered me to stay put before leaving once more. He needn't have bothered; I had no desire to mobilize in the near future. I sat in silence, trying to make sense of what happened. A handful of vampires were already gathered there, nursing ugly wounds and swapping dark narratives of how the fight had played out for them personally. There were 3 Vampaneze prisoners as promised, unconscious and chained together. But something was off about the atmosphere. We'd clearly won from what I'd seen, but nobody was celebrating. More and more vampires began to trickle back into the clearing and unbidden tears of relief burned in my eyes when Larten, Gavner, Arra, and finally Kurda were all re-assembled around me. The only absent members of our company were Mika and Arrow, and a small cheer went up when they finally approached. But it died as soon as it had risen; Mika appeared to be in poor shape. He was bleeding from the head and kept stumbling despite being heavily supported by Arrow. The tattooed prince didn't appear to be wounded but his face was masked with fear and an inhuman amount of rage.

"We were compromised." Arrow snarled at us as he came within earshot. "We have to leave. There's a town 10 miles Northeast. Flit there, NOW. Carry the wounded and the prisoners. GO!"

No one questioned, no one paused.

"Come on!" Gavner lifted me up before I could protest and we took off. I'd only piggyback-flitted once before; I hated being carried but stabbing pains kept shooting up my back, and Gavner was still in peak condition to the best of my knowledge. So I held on and let him take me to safety. Because we were all flitting together, I kept seeing the other members of our company darting in and out of the shadows along with us. The speed of it all made me nauseous, so I closed my eyes.

It felt like all night but it was probably mere minutes when we arrived. We came to a stop and I saw lights; we'd come to rest on the top of a steep hill overlooking a small village. Why we were here, I didn't know. We hadn't passed through on the way but the decision of a prince always comes with a reason.

Gav and I were among the first to arrive. Arra, Larten, Kurda, Adrien, and Darrick appeared moments after. They were carrying loads of weapons on behalf of the vampires who were wounded or had their arms full. More and more of us filled the area with every passing minute, many dropping to the ground in exhaustion. Many looked fearful, others confused. It made my skin crawl; this was not the post-battle atmosphere I'd been told to expect from this group. Something had gone terribly wrong.

Finally, Arrow joined us, carrying Mika who looked weak but nonetheless irritable at being carried about.

"I'm fine, damn it all." I could hear the dark prince gripe to Arrow as he was set safely down. "Go worry about someone who needs it."

"Shut up and save your strength." Arrow snapped back. Mika opened his mouth in protest, but closed it again and leaned resignedly against a boulder.

"Sire, what happened?" a General demanded.

"How were they ready for us?" howled another.

"They knew we were coming, we've been betrayed!"

"Who's the traitor, hm? I'll kill yeh!"

"They had an unfair advantage?"

"How did they do it?"

"Show yourself, traitor!"

"_Coward!_"

"SILENCE!" Arrow barked, and he had it immediately. The mob went as still as if they'd become mute. "Now, I don't have any answers for you." the prince continued tensely as he paced in front of us. "I've got my theories, but until we get some real answers…" -He glanced pointedly at our trio of unconscious Vampaneze prisoners- "…we can't know for sure."

"Interrogate them right here and now!" Arra spat viciously. "We deserve the truth! Expose the traitor and make him pay."

"Don't be ridiculous, Arra." Mika scolded, voice sounding decidedly hoarse. "You know better than to process prisoners of war out in the open."

"It'll take us weeks to get back to Vampire Mountain with this amount of wounded men! What are we going to do, keep those three unconscious and quiet till then? There's more than one traitor in our midst for all we know, they'll turn them loose while we sleep!"

"She's got a point." I ventured thoughtlessly.

"Maybe they were reading the signs and looking after themselves, after all isn't that what we're doing? I know you don't want to hear this Sire, but they're a lot more cunning than you think they are. Maybe we gave ourselves away without realizing it." Kurda spoke up. Rather foolishly in my opinion. Judging by the furious insults that were then hurled his way, he regretted opening his mouth pretty quick.

"I said, _silence." _Arrow growled, looked troubled. He glared heatedly at Kurda, but didn't offer a comment. The prince remained silent for a moment; confusion, indecision, and exhaustion etched on his face. "It's too risky." he decided finally. "All we can do is return to the mountain as soon as possible. And pray we all make it safely. We were overpowered and many Vampaneze escaped the compound. They could be tracking us right now."

A shudder of apprehension rippled through our group, accompanied by a chorus of speculative whispers.

"But you don't get to dwell on that." Arrow interrupted harshly. "As many of you already know, we lost five of our great men tonight. Let that sink in. We shall honour them now. Findlay Barness, Greer Wade, Brock Lohman, Serrano Fiera, and our great General Grayson Hadley. Even in death may they be triumphant."

He made the Death's Touch sign and each of us followed suit, repeating the words.

A tear rolled down my face at the mention of Alexine's husband. Loyal, generous, and loving unconditionally. He didn't deserve it. Any of it. And Serrano; my fellow apprentice who I'd barely known. It could have just as easily been me. Probably should've been.

"As you can see, we were only able to recover four of the bodies before we were forced to flee." Arrow continued, voice close to breaking. "We will not be able to give Serrano a honourable Vampire Mountain funeral."

My heart hurt, I thought I was going to throw up but it wasn't over.

"I wish I had good news for you." Arrow spoke once more, this time his voice _did_ crack. "I really do. But you should all know because I believe it's a reality we will shortly have to face."

Despairing and fearful groans rose up from the crowd. The feverish muttering recommenced, but faded once more when Arrow spoke again:

"I have reasons to believe that many of us have been poisoned."

* * *

_No more games, I'ma change what you call rage_  
_Tear this motherfucking roof off like two dogs caged_  
_I was playing in the beginning, the mood all changed_

* * *

I'm not good at writing action idk I tried

old reviewers, please come back. i'm sorry i left you.

rxx


	8. This Is When The Bad Guy Wins

Hi there. New chappy for your consideration. This one tries to cover more of a longer period of time to move things along faster; the previous ones have focused on individual days at a time but there's no need for that anymore.

Lyrics property of 30H!3, _Bad Guy. (_From the Iron Man 3 soundtrack, AJADGHDFGJHDG)

* * *

_Now there once was a man, Who was tall and handsome_

_The best shot in the land, Not to mention good at dancing_

_A hit with the ladies, A heartthrob with the daughters_

_Cool with the guys, A regular Roy Rogers_

_He was a man of his word, And he did what he said_

_That is, until an outlaw shot him dead_

* * *

The trek back to Vampire Mountain was a slow-motion nightmare. We were moving at a fraction of the pace we'd done before, and doubled up on our rest time. I normally wouldn't have complained about that, but I just wanted to get back safely. Everyone was either carrying a person, a corpse, or supplies. It wasn't fun anymore. I would've given anything for Gavner to pull another stupid prank to lighten the mood but judging by the dull frown his face had adopted full-time, I doubted he'd try that again for the rest of the century. Nobody laughed, we barely even spoke. When there was conversation, it consisted of terse musings about how our betrayal had come about, and more importantly who was behind it. We still had our Vampaneze prisoners, kept sedated and chained. We didn't communicate with them, or vice-versa. They were fed the minimal of what they needed to survive. All of us were hungry and weak, our supply of fresh blood was gone and a feeding detour would've added a week to our ETA at Vampire Mountain.

But even worse, Arrow was right: the Vampaneze had fought dirty and a lot of us had been poisoned during the fight, with a disease passed by blood. It had been agreed upon that the only way the Vampaneze would've had time to prepare it if they had warning that we were coming; even minutes would've been enough. It became apparent in the days after the attack as men started feeling the effects of what appeared to be a terrible flu. But it was more than that. The senior Generals told us how there'd been rumours that the Vampaneze had isolated a strain of Vampire flu and made it even more potent. What the Vampires didn't know was that their experimentation had already been weaponized. We didn't know how they'd managed it, but there was speculation they'd forced the hand of human scientists to do their bidding. But that was an issue to tackle on another raid. At least a dozen of our company was feeling the effects. Two had died. Most were still able to walk, but some were barely clinging to life and they had to be carried. Every night I sent a prayer of thanks to the Vampire gods that none of my close friends, or myself for that matter, had been afflicted.

Mika was in the worst shape; he'd sustained a formidable head injury in the battle, as well four broken ribs and a lacerated chest. And now deadly sickness on top of that. He ran a brutally high fever and had become too weak to stand. A human would've been long dead. Even for one of the toughest Vampires in the world, this was critical. A shaken, paranoid, but physically unharmed Arrow allowed nobody else to tend to his colleague until the traitor was revealed. The turmoil had seemingly flipped a switch in the tattooed prince, turning him into an entirely different person than the gentle-natured man who'd befriended me in the mountain. He did nothing to mask his mistrust; he snapped at anyone who set a toe out of line and glared us down as though expecting us to spontaneously turn into Vampaneze. His anxiety was fuelled by lack of sleep. Every time we tried to find an abandoned building in which to rest for the day, he insisted it had to have only one entrance. Once inside, he guarded that entrance fiercely.

"Why doesn't he get one of the Generals to stand guard?" I whispered to Gavner one night as we got ready for bed. "He looks like he's going to fall over any second."

"He only _really _trusted Grayson. They say he was on the verge of nomination." Gavner shrugged sadly. "And Mika obviously, but he's kind of… indisposed at the moment."

"Arrow doesn't _trust_. Anyone. Ever." Arra hissed, hearing our conversation.

"We might as well all be Vampaneze to him right now." Larten contributed.

"Then why hasn't he decapitated us in our sleep?" Kurda sniffed.

"Whoever the traitor is, has got it coming." Adrien Black added ominously. "They're not going to let him go quickly or honourably. _Especially_ if Mika dies."

"If?" Nero Varland snorted. "_When_. He's not going to make it back to the mountain."

"_Don't you ever fucking say that again_." Arra reacted before anyone else could process the conversation. She punched him in the gut so hard his wheezing was the last thing I heard before I finally dropped into an uneasy but well-appreciated slumber.

###

There was no jubilation in the mountain when we returned. Arrow had relayed the details of the misfired raid to Paris through their mental link and the entire mountain knew we'd been devastated. We didn't get a party -not like we wanted one- but we did get a feast and a hero's welcome. Vampires lined the main hall as we trooped in, making the Death's Touch sign. A group headed by Seba Nile immediately surged forward to whisk Mika off to the hall of recovery, despite the dark prince's feeble protests. Our prisoners were put in lockup, and our dead were turned over to the Guardians of the Blood to be prepared for burial. Once that had been attended to, the remainder of us congregated briefly in the Hall of Princes.

"I will speak with each of you in the coming days." Paris addressed us collectively. "Until then, eat drink and rest. You have all performed admirably in a disadvantaged state, and I commend your courage."

"_Not _all of you." Arrow corrected with a snarl, voice hoarse and hollow. "One of you is a traitor. One of you is going to be executed; your death is as sure as that of your brothers-in-arms who you willingly betrayed to the Vampaneze."

_"Arrow!" _Paris hissed warningly. But his colleague seemed to not hear.

"We interrogate the prisoners tomorrow. And then we'll know." Arrow finished icily.

"That. Is. _ENOUGH_." Paris barked with surprising aggression. "You are dismissed from this hall. Sleep until your head is on straight, and do not speak to me till then!"

Arrow stared his fellow prince down mutinously, but apparently had enough sense not to argue with his senior. He stood abruptly and swept from the room without a backwards glance.

###

The funerals were held the next night. Every vampire in the mountain was in attendance; even most of our sick and injured had managed to appear.

The six dead bodies lay on individual pyres, and on one side stood a tall candle that I knew immediately had been placed in honour of the lost Serrano. Paris and Arrow stood behind the pyres, waiting for everyone to arrive and looking around sombrely. Mika was nowhere to be seen.

Standing in the crowd I saw Alexine for the first time since we returned, and I felt a twinge of guilt that I hadn't sought her out to give her my condolences. I had to admit, albeit begrudgingly, she _was _my friend. But she looked like a different person than the bratty, spoiled, self-obsessed mostly-human I'd met weeks ago. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she wasn't wearing a trace of makeup. Her hair looked unbrushed and unwashed, and she was wearing a simple black dress and plain shoes. And for the first time that I'd ever seen, she was standing alone.

"Hi Kade." she greeted my hoarsely, but not without a trace of a smile.

"How are you doing?" I asked her, a little hoarse myself.

"I don't know." she admitted, running a hand through her tangled hair. By the look of it, she'd been doing that a lot. "I've been better."

"I'm so sorry." I whispered, enfolding her in an awkward hug. I'm not a cuddly person by any means, but Alexine looked so miserable it made my heart stir sympathetically.

"I took him for granted." she croaked unexpectedly as I relinquished the embrace. "I was so awful to him and now he's dead."

I couldn't bring myself to agree with her, no matter how correct she was.

"I didn't know him well, but he was a great warrior. He just wanted you to be happy." I replied, carefully sidestepping her statement.

"He deserved better." she murmured, and I by the grace of the gods I was saved from replying by commencement of the funeral. Usually vampires prefer to die without a lot of fuss, but when a group falls together in battle the clan likes to gather and pay their respects collectively.

"As you know, we lost too many great men in the past weeks. Five respectable soldiers, a most noble General, and a student who had barely begun to carve an identity for himself." said Paris mournfully.

"This loss has dealt a crushing blow to our army, no doubt. But we will rise from the ashes of defeat like I know they would expect us to." Arrow added heavily, eyes just as cold as last I'd seen him. "Brannan Smith, Findlay Barness, Luke Ivor, Greer Wade, Brock Lohman, Grayson Hadley, and Serrano Fiera, rest in paradise knowing you will be avenged. Even in death may they be triumphant!"

We repeated the words and made the Death's Tough sign as the two princes carefully lit each of the pyres. As the bodies silently burned, I watched the white smoke rise to the ceiling like souls making their way to Paradise.

###

Alexine left the next day. She didn't tell anyone, just got up and joined a small group of vampires who were leaving the mountain for some city somewhere. We found out when tried coaxing her out of her cell to come get a meal and when we received no reply after 10 minutes Arra broke her door down in frustration. The biggest shocker was that everything had been left as it was. Her crates were still overflowing with all those luxurious clothes, and the makeup on her vanity was undisturbed. On her bed, there was a note:

_Dear Arra, Kaydee, and whoever else,_

_I knew you'd break down my door eventually. You've probably figured out by now that I've left the mountain. Sorry I didn't come say goodbye. I'm going to the city, I need a different life for a while. I hope to see you again. Until then, help yourself to everything in this room. _

_And Arra: please make sure you wear a dress at least once a month. Larten's a sucker for them. _

_Much love to you both,_

_xo, Alexine_

"That bitch." Arra muttered under her breath. I looked up from the note; there were desolate tears streaming freely from her eyes.

"Yeah, I know." I whispered.

###

It was another 3 days before we resumed training. I'd never been more relieved to get to work. Anything to keep myself from focusing on the raid and it's aftermath.

"Alright, break off into pairs." Vanez ordered, striding briskly into the room minutes after we'd gathered. "The generals have reported to me that all of you fought well on the raid. But if we've learned anything, it is that _well isn't good enough. _When you're dealing with forces of such a nature, you must be _relentless_. Does everyone understand?"

There was a general murmur of assent, and Vanez's tough face broke into a smile.

"That being said, we are proud of you for making the best of unfavourable circumstances and I do say that on behalf of the Princes and the Generals who you are much less likely to ever squeeze a compliment from. Now I won't name names _-Kayden- _but I would like to remind all of you that castrating your opponent should probably be saved for situations of absolute emergency."

I felt my face go redder than Larten's shirt but I held my head high.

"He was a pervert, and that was unfortunately the highest place on his body I could reach or else I assure you my knife would've gone through his heart." I huffed.

"Easy, Kade." Vanez grinned. "I also heard you managed to hold off 3 Vampaneze at once. Very admirable."

"For like 30 seconds, at the most. And they were clumsy." I rebuffed awkwardly.

"Nevertheless, you did well. All of you. Which is not to say none of you have room for improvement! Now get to work."

###

Vanez worked us hard for 3 hours solid before allowing us to head up to the hall of Khledon Lurt for a refreshment break. I love training but I welcomed the break and I sure wasn't the only one. We were all sweaty, bruised, and generally gross. I'd sparred with Gavner, Arra, Nero, and Kurda over the course of the session. None of us were fighting to win, just going through the motions and allowing the one-eyed games master to correct and inspire us.

Gavner and I were the first to head back to the Hall of Games. We were talking about something irrelevant and I almost didn't hear the voices coming from within as I went to open the massive double doors. I paused to press my ear against the wood and motioned for Gav to do the same.

Two voices. Both familiar. Neither happy.

"So you're telling me Paris kicked you off the interrogation." I heard Vanez say with an exasperated sigh.

"Not _kicked off_." Arrow's voice growled back. "He told me to go... take a break"

"That sounds like kicked off to me."

"I was handling it!"

"Oh, were you now? Because killing someone who might hold valuable information doesn't sound like a situation handled."

"It was an accident."

"Really? It didn't occur to you that flinging someone headfirst into a wall might cause their neck to break and render them completely useless? I know forethought isn't your strong suit, but interrogation and punishment are _not _one in the same. It's a fine line, and when it comes to the Vampaneze I don't think you know the difference."

"You sound like Paris." Arrow grumbled after a tense pause.

"Good." Vanez snorted. "He's right."

"You don't know that."

"I do, actually. It's your love for your clan that makes you a great prince, Arrow. Not your hatred for the Vampaneze."

This time the pause was so long that Vanez spoke again:

"Sarah wouldn't want-"

"_IT'S NOT ABOUT SARAH!_ Don't you _ever _say her name." Arrow snarled. Judging by his reaction, Sarah had been the name of his wife. I wouldn't have wanted to be Vanez at that moment, but his voice remained calm as he took the outburst in stride.

"Alright then." the games master replied drily. "What is it about?"

"After everything they've done to us, one of our own has betrayed us to them. I want to kill him, but more than that I just want to understand _why_." The strength in the prince's voice had diminished to almost nothing.

"If there's a reason, you'll find it." Vanez's tone was comforting this time. "You don't know how to lose."

"I'm losing everything when I thought I already had." Arrow countered icily. "Three days ago we burned the corpse of my most trusted general. One of our Princes, _my best friend_, is dying."

This time it was Vanez who was silent. I felt awful for listening in on a moment so personal, so vulnerable… but I couldn't tear myself away.

"I'm going to destroy everyone who had a hand in this. The poisoning, the betrayal, everything. They'll all die. Vampaneze or otherwise." Arrow continued flatly.

Finally Vanez broke his silence:

"It must be exhausting to carry so much hatred for so many."

Arrow sighed; I don't think I'd ever heard a more miserable sound.

"You have no idea."

* * *

_Now there's whiskey in the water, And blood in the creek_

_The outlaw has a glass eye and a scar on his cheek_

_The town hall's a saloon, And the women are whores_

_No house is allowed to put locks on the doors_

_He dreamt he was a king, safe in his bed_

_That's when another outlaw shot him dead_

* * *

Please review. I haven't written DS in literally two years, and nice words keep me going :) thanks for reading.

rxx


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